Children of the Spiral
by JackOfBladesX
Summary: They say the flap of a butterfly can cause a whirlwind on the other side of the planet. During the mission to Wave, the appearance of someone connected to Naruto changes his fate for the better...and shakes those around him. Uzumaki Mito has returned...and she is not amused. NarutoxMito. Rated for safety concerns.
1. Meetings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: BOOYA, First pure NarutoxMito pairing (not harem) on the site. PAY ME BITCHES!**

**Disclaimer: I don't actually make any money for this, so please don't sue me.**

**A/N: Anyway, I hope you guys like it. I am planning this out to be about five chapters. I've about half the story written out (close to finishing up chapter 3, which will likely be the longest chapter), so I don't expect the story to take to long to finish.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Meetings**

**-Wave Country- **

**~1 Day after the Battle of the Bridge~**

Naruto walked alone through the streets of Tazuna's town. Though conscious, Sasuke was still bedridden due to the injuries he suffered during the fight with Haku. Unfortunately, Sakura had decided to add to Naruto's already guilty conscious by blaming him for the Uchiha's condition. After several minutes of watching the boy get berated, Kakashi decided to ask her what _she_ would have done in that particular situation. After sputtering for a bit, a shamed Sakura walked off to another part of Tazuna's house. The damage had been done though and Naruto walked out, saying that he was going to walk around the village.

To add insult to injury he had people cheerfully waving to him throughout the day. He was essentially a hero in Wave…yet he knew that his best friend had nearly been killed because of him. It was a sobering thought. Hell, he felt like shit that both Zabuza and Haku had been killed and those two had been trying to kill all of them. If Sasuke had been killed as well…

The blond shook his head at the thought. He didn't even want to think about it.

"Hey, there's one of them now." Naruto vaguely heard another person say from his right. It wasn't the first time someone had pointed him out…he was easy enough to see after all. "Hey, kid!" It _was_ the first time one of them had decided to call out to him though. He followed the voice to a man behind a stand. The man gestured him towards the stand, "Hey hero, you hungry?"

Naruto's stomach decided to answer for both of them, quite loudly in fact. Naruto held his stomach with both hand, his cheeks red.

The man behind the stand was old, easily as old as the Hokage. Aside form the major age difference, the man actually kinda looked like Iruka, right down to the horizontal scar across his nose. "How about a bowl on the house?"

He couldn't say no to that. "What do you have?" the boy asked as he sat down next to another of the stand's patrons.

"Ramen, best in all the Nations."

Naruto smirked, "I don't know, I think the best ramen belongs to Ichiraku stand back in my village."

The old man smirked right back, "Just sit back kid, and watch the master at work. I'll make you forget about the other guy." The chef turned his back to his patrons and went back to cooking. "So I was telling the young lady next to you about what you folks did for us."

Naruto turned and took a look at the young lady next to him, for the first time. She couldn't have been more than a few years older than him. She was taller than he was, probably by about a foot. She had long red hair that fell halfway down her back. She wore a simple black blouse with a plaid red and black skirt, which greatly contrasted her pale skin tone. She looked back at him with dark blue eyes. Her most notable feature was a small diamond on her forehead. "That he was. Takeshi-san explained that you and your team were responsible for saving this country. That is quite an accomplishment, especially for one quite so young."

Naruto blushed at the girl's praise. "Thanks, sis'. I'm a ninja though…it's what I do."

The girl frowned. "Oh…so ninjas regularly save village's from tyrannical rulers?"

The boy looked away at the girl's comment. "Well…I…mean…" That was rather ignorant of him. He KNEW for a fact that saving countries wasn't what ninja normally did. Still, it sounded a lot cooler than saying that he was a highly trained mercenary. He tried to find a way to answer…but found himself unable to. After a while, he heard a giggling sound next to him. He turned back to stare at her, blush still on his cheeks.

The girl had her right hand covering her mouth, "I apologize, it was impolite of me to laugh at you." She gazed at him with sapphire eyes. "Honestly, I think I prefer your answer to the truth really."

"You do?"

The girl nodded, "You have an air of chivalry about you that I thought was long gone from this world." The smile she gave him, once again, made his cheeks heat up.

'She's pretty', he silently thought. "So, are you not from around here?"

The girl shook her head, "I am not. Oh dear, please excuse me but I do not believe we have been properly introduced."

Naruto flashed her his patented grin, "Name's Uzumaki Naruto."

The girl dropped the chopsticks she had been holding and just stared at the boy before her. Her blue eyes wide with shock. "Uzumaki?"

Naruto, not sensing her shock, nodded. "Yup, the future Hokage of Konoha." For several moments, the girl just stared at him with a scrutinizing stare. It was beginning to unnerve the boy. "And…you are?"

The boy's question seemed to knock her out of her daze. She blinked a few times before lightly clearing her throat. "Please excuse my rudeness. My name is Mito."

**~x~**

Simultaneously, five different figures suddenly shuddered in pure, unadulterated fear. **(1)**

**~x~**

The sounds of laughter could be heard coming out of Takeshi's ramen stand. Naruto had greatly enjoyed the bowl of beef ramen that Takeshi had made for him and had quickly ordered a second bowl. While they were eating Naruto had been regaling Mito with tales of the pranks he pulled during his academy years. She listened to all of them with a cute little giggle that she tried to hide behind one hand. Then he told her about the time he painted graffiti on the Hokage's Monument. She had let go of whatever reservations she held and began laughing full force.

"And you say you were at the bottom of your class?" Mito asked with a sense of mirth in her voice. "I daresay Konoha's standards have improved quite a bit."

Naruto, ignoring the embarrassment of being the class dobe, just cocked an eyebrow at the girl's second statement, "Have you been to Konoha before?"

Mito nodded, "A long time ago." Mito turned back to Naruto, "So, from village prankster to savior of a whole country. I must imagine your parents will be quite proud of you."

The blond frowned at the statement. "I don't have parents."

The girl frowned at the way Naruto said that. "You never knew them?"

The boy shook his head. "And I doubt they'd be all that proud anyway. I screwed up on the mission."

"Oh?" The boy just nodded at the girl's question. Mito turned away from him and took another long sip of her green tea. After placing it down she turned to the boy, "Are you finished?", she asked, pulling her a small purse out of her blouse.

"Ummm…" he had only a little bit of broth left in his bowl. "Almost." His eyes widened when she placed a large amount of money down on the table. Enough to cover both tabs.

"Follow me, Naru-kun." With that, she walked away from the ramen stand.

Naruto slowly followed the girl with his eyes, more than a little surprised that she had actually paid for his meal.

"Hey kid." Naruto's head snapped towards Takeshi. The old man rest one hand on the bar, and leaned down to look into the kids eyes, "Piece of advice, don't let that one get away."

The blond blushed at the comment. He figured he had two choices before him: he could either go back to Tazuna's house and sit around doing nothing or he could follow the cute girl. In a move that would later make a certain Toad Sage proud, the blonde decided to listen to Takeshi's advice and follow the girl…after quickly finishing his broth.

He reached her quickly enough. Mito walked in a grace that he normally attributed to the wives of feudal lords that sometimes visited the Konoha. Her body was perfectly perpendicular to the ground and she seemed to _glide_ across the ground. **(2)**

"Tell me about the battle, why do you think you did something wrong?"

The blond looked down and opened his mouth to speak, "W-"

"Please don't slouch." Naruto's black immediately straightened. He looked at her with a perplexed gaze. "Well?"

Naruto relayed what happened during the battle on the bridge. How he announced his presence. How he walked into the obvious trap. And how he couldn't do anything while he was in said obvious trap.

Throughout his whole explanation, Mito hadn't so much as look back at him. She simply kept looking forward, "You understand what you did wrong, that is good. It is an excellent lesson to learn and it is lucky that you did not lose a comrade to learn it." Naruto nodded, seeing the sense in her words. He certainly wouldn't do something so stupid again. "You simply need to improve yourself in the event that you find yourself in a similar situation again." Again, Naruto nodded.

Naruto followed Mito into a large inn. Though it seemed that the building was, at one point, a nice establishment…it seemed that Wave Country's hard times had hit the inn as badly as the rest of the country. Mito lead Naruto to one of the rooms on the second floor of the inn. Mito gestured for Naruto to sit down at the little table, while she went to the little kitchen.

While waiting for the girl to come back, Naruto looked around the room. Like the rest of the hotel, it looked like it _could_ have been a luxurious place at one point. Gato's influence was most likely the cause of it's decline.

After a few moments, Mito placed a cup of tea in front of Naruto and a second one in front of the an empty chair. She then sat down at the table as well. "There's an old saying, hindsight is twenty-twenty." Mito began. "Tell me, now that you are out of danger, can you think of anything you could have done differently while you were in that trap?"

The blond frowned, "I honestly don't know."

Mito took a quick sip of her tea, "In your position, I would have erected some type of barrier to protect my ally and myself from the senbon needles."

Naruto's eyes widened, "You're a ninja?"

"Not quite." The red head took another sip of her tea. "However, I am proficient in various shinobi arts though and I'm a mastered of Fuin jutsu."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered Iruka going over something called Fuin jutsu during his time at the Academy, but he didn't remember quite what they were. "What's Fuin jutsu?"

Mito, surprised for the first time since learning Naruto's name, nearly chocked on her tea. "You do not know Fuin jutsu", her eyes narrowed, and Naruto actually looked away from her. Mito stood from her seat and went to grab a few items from a nearby table. She placed a piece of paper and a pen on the table and sat down again. She then pulled a kunai from…seemingly nowhere. "I'm going to show you how to seal this kunai into this paper." She began by using the pen to draw strange symbols on the piece of paper. After she had finished, she placed the kunai on the paper and concentrated some chakra through it.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the kunai disappear. "Woah, that's cool." Mito, for her part, seemed quite pleased at the boy's reaction. "So Fuin Jutsu let's you seal items away?"

"To use another saying, 'that is merely the tip of the iceberg.'" She pulled out another piece of paper and placed it in front of Naruto. "It's difficult to learn, but the rewards are only limited by your own imagination. Would you like to learn?"

Naruto was a bit surprised that she was actually willing to teach him. However, he nodded.

**~x~**

Naruto learned that Fuin jutsu was like a different language entirely. It was essentially, writing out what you wanted to happen on paper. It also had, much to Naruto's dismay, several thousand different characters… Mito promised that she'd teach Naruto as much as she could during what little time they had together. By the end of the night, Naruto walked back to Tazuna's house, mentally going over through some of the characters that Mito had taught him.

The blond eventually returned to Tazuna's home a few hours after nightfall. So lost in thought, the blond walked through the house without even noticing that both Kakashi and Tazuna had been sitting up waiting for him.

The older man just watched as the boy walked right passed them. "Well, he doesn't seem that upset, at all."

"No kidding", Kakashi said with a frown hidden behind his mask. He had originally wanted to give the boy some time to get over his Sakura's words before talking to him about the battle. Naruto had spent so much time out that Kakashi had been seconds from going out to look for him. What he didn't expect was for the boy to come waltzing in, looking on like he was on cloud nine. "If I didn't know better I'd swear he just got laid."

"Hah…" Tazuna laughed.

**~x~**

Kakashi was once offered the position as Naruto's foster father, which he immediately declined. It wasn't that he didn't want to look after the boy, quite the opposite actually. It was simply that Kakashi didn't want Naruto to end up like him. Case and point: Kakashi could barely even remember the eight years following Naruto's birth…and Minato's demise. It was honestly a long blur of drinking, sex and high-profiled missions. He vaguely remembered something about saving some chick from Snow Country…but everything else came in a haze.

However, much to Kakashi's disappointment, Naruto nearly ended up becoming like him after all. Naruto nearly lost a friend and teammate as a result of his own mistakes. Luckily, the blond seemed to understand the magnitude of his actions. Kakashi had WANTED to go speak with the blond, maybe have one of those sensei-student bonding moments, but didn't get to him before Sakura did. He had wanted to give the boy a few hours to calm down before talking to him.

The following day, Naruto left the Tazuna's house bright and early, saying that he was going out to the village. Kakashi left around the same time with Tazuna who still had to go work on the bridge. The two adults returned to the house before dusk and Naruto still hadn't arrived. After about half an hour the jounin was about to go out looking for him when the boy inexplicably arrived…again wearing a shit-eating grin. That night Sakura actually came up to him and apologized for what she said the day before. The boy's reaction was, essentially, 'yea-sure-whatever', much to the surprise of the members of team 7.

The day after, Kakashi created a Kage Bunshin to follow the blond throughout the village. A couple hours later found Kakashi lounging around the side of the nearly finished bridge, reading his book, when the memory of the kage bunshin suddenly entered his mind's eye. Kakashi's book actually fell out of his hand as he scanned through the clone's memories. Naruto had went to go see a GIRL…a girl that looked about three years OLDER than he was…and he went to go see her at her APARTMENT. **Summary:** Naruto went to go visit an older girl at her apartment. Considering the boy's mood over the last few days, it was likely that he had been seeing her since Sakura's outburst. There was only one logical conclusion that Kakashi could come to: some pretty young thing, and YEA she WAS pretty, had decided to thank the younger boy, for helping free her country, by introducing him to the world of casual sex. That, in Kakashi's opinion, was freaking awesome. It was also a common plot point in several stories of Jiraiya's (in)famous book series.

Still…Kakashi's clone had decided to keep watching the blond through a conveniently open window to make sure every thing was on the up and up. Kakashi presumed that the girl was from one of the better off families in Wave. He based the presumption on the girl's clothing. Though he didn't normally pay much attention to fashion, the outfits she wore were clearly not the same as the people from Wave. They seemed like they may have come from a more modern village, like perhaps one on Konoha's level. Perhaps she had them imported? It was either that or she was a traveler, she was staying at an inn. 'Could she be an enemy kunoichi?' Unlikely, she didn't seem to actively be trying to seduce the blond. Through his vantage point, the only thing the clone saw them doing was…drawing? Writing? Curious. Either way, it seemed 'innocent' enough so Kakashi-clone didn't feel like starting a confrontation. Perhaps the girl's family owned the inn. Either way, he decided to leave Naruto be…at least until the boy was ready to talk about it himself. There was the _bro code_ to consider after all. After thinking about it though, he decided that he'd need to teach the boy, BOTH boys actually, jutsus to…'be safe'. Girls were generally taught those jutsus before graduating from the Academy…thinking about it Kakashi realized that there was a horrible 'double standard' in there somewhere, however he didn't care enough at the moment to consider it further. He needed to consider Naruto's actions…

**~Four days after the Battle of the Bridge~**

"Hey Naruto!"

Surprised, for he didn't think anyone was downstairs, Naruto turned towards the sound of the voice to see Kakashi coming towards him. "Oh, hey Kaka-sensei. I thought you already left with Tazuna?"

"He's waiting outside." Kakashi stopped right in front of Naruto and grasped the boy by his shoulder. Naruto glanced at the hand momentarily before turning back to Kakashi. The jounin actually had TEARS in his visible eye.

"Kaka-sensei?"

Kakashi pulled Naruto into a hug…a MANLY hug. "I just want to tell you that I'm so proud of you." Once again, Kakashi realized there was a horrible double standard in _his_ own actions…for if it were Sakura who was entertaining some random boy, he probably would have broken the boy's legs by now. When they separated, Naruto looked at Kakshi with wide-eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that and-" Kakashi held out his hand to give Naruto something, which the boy accepted. "-be safe." With that, Kakashi left.

Naruto just stared at the man's back in confusion. After Kakashi exited the house, Naruto looked down the thing in his hand. "Candy?" Naruto opened the wrapper and pulled out a white circle. He wiggled it around in his hand, "Feels like rubber." He held it close to his nose and took a quick whiff of it and quickly pulled it away a second later. "Ill…" Naruto opened a nearby trashcan a dumped it inside, before walking away. "I hate kiwi-flavored candy."

**~Five days after the Battle of the Bridge~**

Naruto wasn't having a good day. Tazuna had gotten drunk the night before, an action that continued on to the early _morning_. Unfortunately the old drunk had started dancing and ended up spilling beer all over everyone around him. Naruto's orange jacket still reeked of alcohol when he woke up. The man had been celebrating the fact that the bridge would finally be finished the following day…which unfortunately meant that the mission would be coming to an end soon. According to Tazuna he just had a few last 'artistic' touches do put on the bridge…whatever that meant.

And Kakashi, much to everyone else's displeasure, wanted to leave the very moment the bridge was finished, instead of waiting for the following morning. He was upset because he had actually grown fond of the old drunk, as well as Inari and Tsunami. Not to mention walking around a village where everyone actually praised him instead of wishing death on him. And when his mind turned to the young lady whom he spent the last few days with, it felt like his chest was in a vice grip. That morning he barely paid attention to the trip to her apartment and before he knew it he was knocking on her door.

"Come in", came Mito's voice behind the door. Naruto let himself into the room Mito had been staying in. He found the girl in question sitting on the floor in a lotus position. Naruto's eyes immediately locked onto the ball of water that was currently _floating_ in front of Mito's chest. "Hello Naru-kun. There is-" Mito stopped and immediately turned her head to the boy in question. Her eyes narrowed in on him and he immediately paled at the look. Though not nearly as overbearing as the aura of killer intent that Zabuza exuded, he still found it difficult to move. "Have you been _drinking_?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "No! Tazuna was drinking and spilled beer all over me. I couldn't get it out."

The redheaded teen continued staring at Naruto for a few moments before the ki dissipated entirely, allowing the blond to let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. "The man responsible for overseeing the construction of the bridge…was drinking last night?" The boy nodded. Mito turned away from him. "Forgive me for my anger and accusation, however I simply do not have a high opinion of alcohol…or those who partake in it. There is another seal on the table, please have a look at it."

Naruto turned to the table to find a rolled out scroll waiting for him. He had finally gotten sealing weapons, and other items, into scrolls the day before. "The old man was celebrating. He said he'd be finishing the bridge pretty soon", the blond said as he sat down at the table. Mito actually flinched at the boy's words. He spent a few minutes glancing over the different characters of the new seal before he decided to ask, "That's pretty cool, what are you doing?"

"It's an elemental chakra control exercise. Do you know what your elemental affinity is Naru-kun?"

"No…"

Mito frowned. It wasn't the first time that she suspected there had been a serious gap in Naruto's education. "Everybody has at least one innate elemental affinity. Your affinity allows you to use high level ninjutsu of that particular element, as well as helping you learn ninjutsu of that particular element."

Naruto nodded. "Kinda like Sasuke and his fire jutsu?"

Mito frowned, but nodded, "Quite likely. Though in the case of low-level techniques, it is not actually necessary to have that particular affinity, having it does make those easier to learn." She stood up and walked towards the table, still with the orb of water around her chest. "This was a common exercise within my country. You use elemental chakra to levitate a sphere of your element, in my case water. It is a good meditation exercise." The orb of water floated over to just above her right hand and she held it out to Naruto.

Amused by it, Naruto reached out and poked at the orb of water.

Mito moved her hand over the seal on the table and activated it. Naruto watched wide-eyed as the water in his hand was sucked up into the seal. "This particular seal is multipurpose. The most common use is to carry drinking water with you. However, with a little cunning and preparation, one can also use this seal to block elemental ninjutsu."

In Naruto's mind's eye, Sasuke was launching one of his fire technique at him, and he just casually flipped open a scroll that sucked all fire inside of it. The thought made Naruto grin.

"Do you know when you will be leaving?"

Naruto frowned, "Kaka-sensei wants to leave later today."

Again, Mito frowned, "Then take it home with you." Naruto's eyes widened when she said that. "I doubt you will be able to memorize it one a single day. Since today will probably be our last day together for a while, I thought that we could wander around the village."

Naruto immediately grinned, "That sounds good." Mito walked across the room and put on a pair of black shoes.

Naruto nodded and rolled up the scroll and placed it in his right pocket. "Where are we going?"

"Just around the village." They both exited the room and walked out of the inn. "So tell me about Konoha?" Sadly, Naruto didn't know too much information, which Mito found relevant. He knew about places that he commonly visited, but nothing all to significant. However, Naruto swore, that when he mentioned the Old Hokage, he heard her say _'Hiru-chan was always such a good boy'_.

"Naruto?"

Both Naruto and Mito turned towards the sound of the voice, to find Sakura and Sasuke staring back at them. The blond waved at them, "Hey guys, what's up?"

Sakura looked between Naruto and the girl he had been walking with. "Who's your…friend?"

"Oh yea…" Naruto gestured towards the girl. "This is my friend Mito." He then turned towards the girl in question. "And these are my teammates, Sakura and Sasuke-teme!"

Sakura frowned but greeted the girl with a small wave, "Mito-san." Sasuke merely grunted.

The girl lightly bowed her head to the pinkette, "Sakura-san." She then turned towards Naruto's male teammate. Her disposition took a notable turn. She just stared coolly at the boy for a few moments before saying, "Uchiha-san."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. He figured the dobe must have talked about all of them before…how else could she have learned his surname.

"So what are you guys up to?"

"Tsunami-san asked Sasuke-kun and I to run some errands for her. What are you…two doing?"

Naruto flashed her his trademark foxy grin, "Since this will probably be our last day here, we decided to walk around the village instead of hanging out in Mito's room all day!"

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke, for his part, was overcome by a strange and unfamiliar emotion. He was just…so very proud of Naruto right now. He felt like he should be giving the boy a thumbs up for something. Maybe a pat on the back? After thinking it over, he finally settled for clearly praising the other boy for his _accomplishment_, "Hn…"

"So anyway, we should get going."

Sakura was a bit surprised, "Sure…"

With that, Naruto and Mito walked away.

The pinkette turned to the Uchiha with a slight scowl on her face. "I don't like her, I don't think she's right for Naruto." Sasuke just turned to stare a her for a moment. "What?"

After a moment the boy just shook his head, "Don't be a stereotype." With that, he walked off, leaving Sakura alone with her confusion. **(3)**

Some ways down the road, Mito turned to her companion, "Tell me about the graduation exam you had to take, Naru-kun."

Again, Naruto frowned. For a moment he thought about embellishing the truth, to outright lying to her. However, instincts compelled him NOT to do either. In the end, he listened to his instincts and told her the truth. Though since the Hokage had labeled the Mizuki incident classified, he left explained _'that he graduated after learning a powerful technique and defeating one of his former senseis'_. Which really wasn't far from the truth.

Mito just stared at him for several moments. She knew that Naruto was holding something back…but decided not to ask him about it. "Your graduation was irregular, though I don't think that is a bad thing. My country's graduation exam was very different."

Naruto, not catching the past-tense, asked, "What country is that?"

"Uzushio, one that is long dead."

"I'm sorry."

The girl shook her head, "Do not be, I have had plenty of time to grieve." Naruto actually looked down, not quite sure what to say. Mito continued as if Naruto didn't interrupt, "Our shinobi hopefuls were taken into a secluded island, armed with only a kunai and our personal skills. The hopefuls were forced to wear thin clothing, which provided little protection against the elements. The objective was survival for a solid week." Spying Takeshi's ramen stand, and knowing Naruto love of ramen, she decided to lead the boy in that direction.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "So you didn't need to learn certain jutsus or take a written exam?"

"Techniques were taught, prior to the exam of course. However, if one of our genin didn't master a technique, like say the **Bunshin no Jutsu** for example, they simply had to take the exam without it."

Takeshi waved at both Naruto and Mito, cheerfully. When they sat down he gave Naruto an odd look. It was like the man was giving him a thumbs up with his eyes. He didn't even know how that was even possible. "What can I do for you two kids?"

"I would like a bowl of shrimp ramen, please."

"Pork for me old man." Takeshi nodded and turned to go make their order. Naruto turned to look at the girl again, again feeling a pang of sadness in his chest. "So, any advice on what other Fuin jutsu I should learn?"

"In your place, I would simply continue learning the basics as best as I could. However, please thread carefully Naruto-kun. I very much doubt many people in your village will approve of someone with your condition learning Fuin jutsu."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. 'Did she mean…' Naruto looked at the girl in front of him with a questioning look. She gazed at him for another moment before placing her hand on her stomach and circling around where no doubt her navel was. Naruto's look then turned towards one of horror.

Mito's gaze softened. "I was thinking, Naruto-kun, that I would come visit you in your village."

The fact that she wasn't automatically rejecting him calmed Naruto down somewhat. He actually smiled again, "Really? When?"

Mito's gaze turned away from Naruto. "I am not entirely sure. You see I was hoping to find a member of my family, however she is being quite a difficult person to find."

"Maybe I can help?"

Mito shook her head, "It is something I must do myself. However, if I cannot find her, perhaps I will come to Konoha in the near future. I cannot be certain."

"Great, I'd like to introduce you to all my friends in Konoha like Iruka, and the Hokage and maybe we can hang out with my teammates again."

The girl nodded, "That sounds nice, perhaps we will see each other again in a few months. I would very much like to see the Hiru-chan again."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "Hiru-chan? You know somebody in Konoha?"

"I do", Mito gave him a grin that seemed better suited to _his_ face and her own. "and I do believe that he will be quite surprised to see me."

**~x~**

A few hours later Naruto and his teammates became the first people to cross The Great Naruto Bridge. The following morning Mito crossed the bridge herself…but not before glancing down at the sign that named the bridge. She smiled at the gesture.

**~End~**

* * *

**Omake: Prejudices**

Sasuke just happened to be walking down the road, when the redheaded girl that Naruto had been hanging out with stopped in his path. "Hn..." the boy grunted.

The girl sighed, "Forgive me, but I do not believe our first meeting illustrated my dislike for your clan well enough, so..." the girl produced a bat out of nowhere and smashed the Uchiha across the head...sending the boy tumbling to the floor. "I would like you to know", she brought the bat down on his right leg, "While you may be", she brought it down again on his hand, "A nice young man", she smashed his hip, "Dealings with one of your elders have left me preduced." She hit him three more times, illiciting a scream from the boy for each hit. "Shame...though my actions were born out of unfair prejudices, I believe I may have increased my popularity." She turned to leave but not before tossing the bat over her shoulder and striking the prone Uchiha. "Odd."

* * *

**(1)** Can you guess who the five people are?

**(2) **I might be being excessive, but from every picture of Mito I've seen…she just seems like the type who would take one of the classes where the girls balance a book on their heads and try to walk without dropping it. Also, yay for me knowing what that's actually called.

**(3)** I've seen it happen a few times in fiction, mostly television. Guy likes girl, girl ignores guy, guy finds new girl, first girl throws himself at guy. I've even seen it in fanfiction before.

**A/N: The reason Mito is so young will be explained in the next chapter. Will likely be out in a few days.**


	2. Revelations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: You guys seem interested, that's good to see. I'll try to not disappoint you.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Revelations**

**-Konohagakure : Hotsprings-**

**~Day after Chunin exams preliminaries~**

Jiraiya…of Konoha's Legendary Sannin…the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myobuko…the wandering sennin of the north, south, east, and west…the man who had women throwing themselves at him…was bored beyond reason. He had just had a serious meeting with the old Hokage regarding their old _friend_, Orochimaru. As a result of the meeting, Hiruzen had decided to order Jiraiya to stay close to the village. So, like a six-year-old with ADHD, Jiraiya had been positively bored ever since he had gotten out of the conference with the aged Kage…_five_ minutes ago.

The old man had mentioned that Naruto was in the Chunin exam finals, and that his actual sensei had stuck him with a proxy while he trained another of his students. Obviously the old man had hoped that he would pick up the slack and train Minato's son. After a while the toad sage had decided to do just that. The alternative would have been to peek at the women's side of the hot springs, which was admittedly a bit boring. It wasn't that there weren't any beauties in the Konoha hot springs, quite the opposite actually. It was just that Jiaiya had been in and out of that spot so many times that it hardly proved a challenge for him any more…and that really was half of the fun.

So the old man decided on training Naruto, which required tracking the kid down.

Jiraiya actually ended up finding Naruto at the Hotsprings of all places. He immediately recognized the man Kakashi had stuck the boy with, as the uptight _elite_ trainer who taught Sarutobi's bratty grandson. That would actually work into his plan…and he'd be able to get a quick peak into the lady's side of the hot springs while he was at it!

He silently summoned a toad, Gamaten, which was big enough for him to ride around on to add to the image. Together the pair snuck over to the wall that covered the women's side of the hotsprings. 'Quick peek, check.' Jiraiya let the beautiful images he saw burn themselves into his memory. 'Get elite trainer's and brat's attention-' Jiraiya began giggling perversely, '-check.'

Ebisu turned to glare at the toad sage, just as Jiraiya guessed he would. "I will not allow such behavior in my presence!"

Jiraiya grinned, 'Prove my awesomeness-' Gamaten turned, grabbed Ebisu with his large tongue, and slammed the man against the ground. '-check.' Technically it was Gamaten's strength…but Jiraiya figured it would have the same affect. 'Look like a complete badass-' Jiraiya glanced towards the boy. If the look of awe on Naruto's face was any indication, the toad sage's plan was obviously working. 'CHECK!' Jiraiya actually patted himself on the back.

He then felt someone next to him. His eyes narrowed and he turned to see a teenage redhead had appeared on his left. The girl in question was wet and flushed, obviously she had just come out of the baths, and was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body. In the blink of an eye, Jiraiya was slammed into the wall. Gamaten, deciding on self-preservation, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto's eyes widened. Though her long red hair was wet and clinging to her face, he had little trouble identifying the girl in front of him. "Mito?"

The girl in question turned to him with dark blue eyes…and then he found it hard to breath. "Naruto…" The overwhelming aura froze him to his spot. "Explain yourself!"

Realization dawned on Naruto a second later: Mito thought he was peeping on the women like the old pervert was. He also realized that the girl in front of him could smear him across the ground with very little effort on her part…and no doubt a great amount of satisfaction.

"It's not what it looks like, I was training with the closet pervert, he brought me here to teach me water walking, but I wasn't able to do it well and then that old pervert showed up and the closet pervert went to stop him and then the old pervert's frog beat up the closet pervert and then you showed up and beat him and I SWEAR I wasn't trying to peek on you or anyone else!"

Though Naruto didn't have a problem understanding what he had just said, to anyone else it came out fast and high pitched. Luckily, for him, Mito had experience deciphering such talk in the past. It took her a while, but she managed to understand what it was that Naruto had said. The boy let out a sigh of relief when Mito's ki dissipated. "It was a toad."

"Huh?"

Mito gestured towards the man, "The animal he summoned was a toad, not a frog."

"Oh…" Same difference in Naruto's book.

Once her mind was clear of murderous thoughts, Mito immediately noticed something was obviously off about Naruto. "Wait here, we will go somewhere private when I get back." With that, Mito turned to go back the way she came.

**~x~**

Twenty minutes later found both Naruto and Mito in one of the training grounds that littered Konoha. The girl had changed into a black kimono, with a red sash keeping it closed. Though she had been brushing it throughout the walk towards the training ground, her scarlet hair was still damp and messily framing her face. Her appearance made the boy blush whenever he looked at her…then images of her in nothing but a towel entered his mind. He silently prayed that she didn't find out what he was thinking about.

"Naruto-kun."

Startled, Naruto jumped at the sound of her voice. "Yea?"

The redhead girl sat on a rock, still brushing away at her hair. "Take off your jacket and shirt."

Naruto's eyes widened and his blush deepened. "What!"

Mito just gave him a dry look. "You have something on your body. I am sensing a seal on you that was most certainly NOT there when we met in Wave Country. I would like to have a look at it."

That cinched his suspicions from way back, she did know…and she didn't care. "I got another seal on me? How?" Naruto on unzipped his jacket.

She placed the hairbrush on the rock and began walking towards the boy, "You tell me." He tossed his jacket on the ground and took off his shirt as well. Mito placed her hand next to his navel, earning a small blush from the boy. She immediately recognized the problem, "**Gogyo Fuin**, is a seal used to disrupt the flow of chakra of the one it is placed on. I must imagine that you have had greater difficulty controlling your chakra for quite some time."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Yea…ever since that creepy snake guy hit me on the stomach."

Mito's eyes narrowed, she'd have to get a better account of what happened later. "I can remove the seal from you, though I must warn you that it will be quite painful." Before Naruto could react to Mito's statement, the girl's right hand glowed blue and she quickly hit Naruto over the navel. Naruto clenched his teeth to stifle a shout and managed to hold his ground. Mito smiled and patted the boy on the head. She then turned back towards the rock she had been sitting on. "Walk on the lake."

Naruto nodded and went over to the small lake that was on the side of the training ground. Concentrating on the lesson that Ebisu gave him, Naruto took a careful step onto the surface of the water. To his amazement, it felt as if he was on solid ground. He took a few steps out towards the center of the lake and jumped up and down. He turned back to the girl, giving her his brightest smile. "How'd you know that I had that seal on me?"

"After training with Fuin jutsu for so long, I have developed something of a sixth sense for seals." The girl sighed, her hair wouldn't get much drier in the amount of time she had. "Why were you training with-" she frowned at the 'nickname' Naruto had given the blue-clothed man, "-that man? Where is your sensei?"

Naruto scowled and stopped jumping. "He went to go train Sasuke-teme and stuck me with the closet pervert."

Mito frowned again, "I see. I presume that the two of you are both in the Chunin Exams?"

"Yep", the blond clenched his fist. "First I'm going to beat that bastard Neji and then I'm going to beat everyone else!"

Another story that Mito felt she would have to get at a later date, for it seemed that Naruto had a grudge against this 'Neji'.

Then a thought occurred to Naruto that made him grin. "Hey wait, can you train me?" It made sense: Ebisu was apparently a Special Jounin, and he was easily beaten by the Toad Pervert, and Mito easily beat the Toad Pervert **(1)**…so she had to be much stronger than both of them. Mito turned to the blond. She had combed her hair in two intricate buns on either of side of her head. She had also hung a white piece of paper, with kanji that he couldn't quite read, from each of the buns. "You look pretty…" When Naruto realized what he had said, he immediately turned bright red….and fell through the surface of the water.

Mito, who had actually reddened at the boy's comment, giggled at the him. "I have to go speak with Hiru-chan now. When I return, we may discuss training. Until that time, please work on the water-walking exercise." With that last statement, she turned to walk away.

**~x~**

"_Hokage-sama"_, the voice of his assistant blared over the intercom. _"There is a young lady here to see you; she claims to have information regarding Uzumaki Naruto"_, his assistant finished in a sugar-sweet tone of voice.

Hiruzen frowned at that. Somebody coming to talk to him about Naruto usually meant one of two things. Either the boy pranked someone or someone else was looking to complain that the twelve-year-old was still breathing. Since he graduated from the Academy, it had only been the latter. Pressing down on the intercom's button, he replied, "Send her in, Shion."

"_Yes Hokage-sama!"_

A second later, a teenager in a black kimono entered his office. "Hello Hiru-chan. Have you been a good boy?"

Hiruzen flinched at the sound of the voice. The girl just gave him a smile that he hadn't seen in nearly twenty-four years. His eyes widened, "Mito-sama?" It took Hiruzen exactly two seconds to regain his composure…two seconds too long if one were to ask him. The old man immediately narrowed his eyes and released a wave of killer intent.

For her part, the woman seemed unaffected by the Sandaime's legendary aura. She just smiled at him, "I ask that you please try to relax Hiru-chan-"

"Enough!" the old man barked. "Do you have any idea who you are impersonating? You have till the count of three-"

He stopped, mid-threat, when he heard the teen before him giggle. She giggled! He had leveled her with the same killer intent that had other Kages quaking in fear and she fucking giggled! "Oh, you have become so adorable Hiru-chan."

That was a hit to his pride, something that hasn't happened since he was just a genin. The old man's right eye twitched. "I will not tolerate this offense!" the man said through gritted teeth.

"You will tolerate me." All mirth faded from the girl's voice. "You are in your sixties and you still have yet to learn proper respect." Hiruzen tensed when he saw her hand move into her pocket. Mito pulled her hand, and an object out of her pocket.

Hiruzen eyes widened. His face turned ghostly white. His blood turned cold. For the first time in decades, the Third Hokage knew fear. That ended when realization and acceptance spread through his mind. "Mito-sama?"

The girl nodded in response and placed the dreaded…item back in her pocket. "If you wish, perhaps we can finish this conversation within the Senju compound. I imagine I am still keyed into the blood seal which protects the grounds." The girl paused for a moment. "The cherry tree, which overlooks the pond, should be in bloom at this time of year. The sakura petals would provide a lovely atmosphere to drink tea in."

A thousand thoughts ran through Hiruzen's mind. The old man put on his poker face. "Please have a seat…Mito-sama." The old man gestured towards the chair that was in front of his desk. He still wasn't sure about the girls' identity…but he wasn't willing to discount her yet. His mind raced for ways to prove, or disprove, the girl's identity. The surest way would be to test her blood with that of a living relative. Unfortunately he didn't think they HAD any of Tsunade's DNA on hand and she wasn't close enough to Naruto for them to test for a relation. The blood seal on the Senju compound would probably end up being the only true way to test her identity. It was either that or play twenty questions.

The buzz of his intercom shook him out of his thoughts. _"Hokage-sama."_

Knowing that he was in a meeting, his assistant waited until he answered before continuing, "Go ahead Shion."

"_Hikari-san is here to see you."_

Hiruzen cursed under his breath. He _would _have to have a busy day today of all days.

"If you are busy, I could come back later."

"No!". He pushed the button on his intercom, "Shion, please reschedule." No doubt Yamato Hikari would take the slight personally, but he doubted whatever the man had to say was as important as the current meeting.

"_As you wish, Hokage-sama!"_

The old man turned to what _should _have been a much older woman. Mito smiled back at him. "You have taken after your predecessors." She paused for a moment to stare at the picture of Hashirama, her late husband, on the wall. "Your secretary is very perky."

For the first time in years, Hiruzen blushed. He felt the need to defend himself. "Shion is professional and quite capable."

"I have no doubt that she is. I was merely observing the fact that, out of your entire shinobi force, the one you chose is likely to distract your male visitors. It was an act that your predecessors followed as well…it makes one wonder if all your 'capable' shinobi are young, beautiful kunoichi." Mito turned he rhead to look at different areas of the room, "What do you four boys think?"

The four ANBU that were hiding around his office were trained enough to NOT make a sound when Mito addressed them…but it was likely that they were at least surprised that she managed to detect them at all.

'Was Mito-sama a sensor?' the old man thought to himself. She never did reveal all of her abilities to him…his senseis didn't even do that. He thought about the convenience of testing the woman's skills…Mito was always a Fuin-user of Legendary status. An idea then hit Hiruzen a second later. "Can you please summon a rabbit for me?"

A moment later a foot-tall gray rabbit was standing on the Hokage's desk, staring back at the old man. Hiruzen would honestly think the little guy was cute…if he weren't 'fingering' a pair of wicked looking sickles that were big enough for a human to wield. The eye patch over the animal's right eye, which had a skull emblem, wasn't helping things either. However, the fact that she could summon the creature before him was one point in the girl's favor.

Hiruzen would still be playing twenty questions though.

**~x~**

If somebody ever wrote a biography about the life of the Sandaime, he seriously hoped they didn't ask Mito for information. She knew things about him that…he wished would forever remain buried. Not even his teammates knew the things she had mentioned outright. Luckily she didn't go into full details…or he'd be forced to swear his bodyguards to secrecy, and yes he WOULD go that far. The entire meeting had lasted well over an hour and Hiruzen was more than willing to believe the girl's crazy tale, even without testing out the blood seal at the Senju compound. The sound of his intercom buzzing again popped the old man out of his thoughts. _"Hokage-sama."_

"Go ahead Shion."

"_Mitokado-sama and Utatane-sama are both here to see you."_

Hiruzen's cursed under his breath. Having those two here would NOT be good…though, if only to save himself a headache later, he decided to grant them entrance. "Please send them both in."

"_Yes Hokage-sama!"_

The door opened and the Hoakge's two former teammates walked in. They of course noticed the young lady sitting in front of Hiruzen and gave him a questioning look. "Please have a seat." They went to do so, planning to take their respective places at Hiruzen's side, when the woman stood up. That's when they both saw her face…and gawked. The young lady giggled and patted each of them on the head…yes she patted them on the head as if they were small children. "Koha-chan, Homu-chan. How have you two been?"

"Mito-sama…" Koharu began, with wide eyes.

Homura's gaze immediately turned towards Hiruzen. For his part, Hiruzen simply said three words, "It's really her."

Shock and amazement overcame Homura's face. "How is this possible?" Homura asked. "You don't look a day over sixteen."

"I should be fifteen."

"But, how?" Koharu asked. The Uzumaki's clan legendary vitality was, of course, common knowledge to those who were familiar with the clan. The ability they had to live long lives and to survive blows most others would find fatal. Regardless, they had seen the woman, which now stood before them, twenty-four years ago. Twenty-four years ago she had been naught but an old crone. Now she was a young girl who was yet to even reach the prime of her life, not like a woman who should be close to a hundred by this time. They thought back to the woman's granddaughter. "Is it a Genjutsu?"

The girl shook her head. "It's all biological." The three oldest…err…the three that _looked_ the oldest silently wondered what other secrets was hidden away in the Uzumaki clan's genome. "As you all know, I left Konohagakure after transferring the Kyuubi no Kitsune to Kushina-chan." The woman frowned at the thought. She had been so close to death that night, and it was a miracle that she hadn't been bedridden for the rest of her short life. "I desired to see my homeland once more before I died." Mito frowned as the memories flooded her mind's eye. The sight she saw was not that of the beautiful village of her childhood, but those of a decaying ruin. It broke her heart. "To cut a long story short, I found something left behind by my father, and that is the reason I am still alive today…and the reason for my appearance."

"What did you find?"

The redhead shook her head, "Irrelevant. Due to certain rare ingredients, it is unlikely that anyone will ever be able to reproduce my father's research. Even if that were not the case, this" she gestured towards herself, "is only something that one with Uzumaki blood can take advantage of." That either labeled Mito's secret _"fountain of youth"_ as either an Uzumaki clan secret or completely fucking irrelevant to anyone outside the bloodline. Or possibly both…probably both.

Hiruzen frowned, "How long have you been like this?"

The 'young' woman clenched her eyes shut. "Twelve years." It was one of her biggest regrets. If she had been in Konoha during the Kyuubi's attack then she might have been able to save Kushina from death…or at least could have saved Naruto from the fate of being a Jinchuuriki.

"Why did you wait so long before coming back?"

"Twelve years ago, I had the body of a three year old." Luckily the ruins of Uzushio had plenty of provisions scattered about…however it had been a nightmare to try and survive in the body of a three year old. In spite of that fact, it was heartbreaking to know that she may have been able to do something, yet not have been around to do it. "I spent ten years in my country before departing and, at that time, I wasn't ready to reveal myself at that time." She had spent that decade training her body to peak physical ability, burying the dead, and re-mastering abilities that she hadn't used in years.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding. "So what do you plan to do now?"

"If it would not be an imposition, I had thought about staying in the old Senju compound for some time."

"Will you attempt to resurrect the Senju clan?" Homura asked.

Mito shook her head. "I lack the blood to do so, for I was a Senju in name alone. Any hope the Senju has at being revived rests with my granddaughter." Sadness enveloped Mito for just a moment. "If I decide to do so, the only clan I could take part in resurrecting is the Uzumaki clan."

The _old_ woman's eyes narrowed, "You wish to place the boy under your control", Koharu accused.

Mito narrowed her eyes at the accusation, "If you wish to see it that way. In truth, I just want to make sure that my last clanmate has a stable environment to hone his abilities."

The oldest looking woman scoffed, "The boy is being watched and provided for by this council, you have no need to interfere with him."

Mito glared at the other woman, "Yes…I have heard of the results of your guardianship. Forgive me if I do not fully approve of the outcome." That received three different reactions from the three elders. Hiruzen kept his face neutral, though one could see underlying feelings of shame in his face. Koharu was clearly insulted at the insinuation. Homura appeared to be somewhere in the middle of his teammates. "Speaking of which, may I know why you deemed it necessary to keep his ancestry from him?"

The third Hokage frowned. "I feared the knowledge would be leaked to the wrong people, and Naruto would become a target against his parents' enemies. So I kept the knowledge of his lineage a secret from all but a handful of people."

Mito narrowed her eyes, "This hypothetical situation where outsiders learned of Naruto's ancestry, you believe it to be worse than a no name orphan being surrounded by people who have a grudge against the demon that resides inside of him."

Hiruzen frowned. Even he had to admit that his decision sounded bad when she said it that way. Somehow, the 'scolding' she just gave him plus the frown made Hiruzen feel twelve years old again. Though Tobirama and, under rare circumstances, Hashirama were the ones who taught him jutsu and helped him refine his abilities, it was Mito who kept him from doing stupid things…like practicing high level jutsu on his teammates. Phantom pains suddenly erupted from his backside. "I truly didn't believe the people would hold Naruto's condition against him. When I saw that they did, I passed a law that forbade anyone from telling the younger generation of the truth about Naruto." He didn't know why he felt the need to justify his actions. "It was my belief that Naruto could still have a normal childhood if he and his generation didn't know the truth about what happened twelve years ago."

He assumed Mito would at least accept his decision. Instead a look of horror passed over the girl's features. "You did not tell Naruto the truth." Mito immediately glared at the trio before for her. "How could you?" the question was barely above a whisper, though everyone in the room heard her voice it.

Again, the Sandaime frowned. "Naruto was young. I feared what that information would do to a child. It was my intention to tell him everything when he became a Genin."

"Your intention?"

Hiruzen's mouth snapped closed. _He_ had wanted to be the one to tell Naruto everything…and then Mizuki swooped in and screwed everything up **(2)**.

After Hiruzen's explanation the girl just shook her head, "I should have returned sooner." That small statement definitely had a large impact on Hiruzen and his council. Expressions ranged between hurt and angered. The redhead just sighed. "While you may have meant well, Hiruzen, I believe your actions caused more harm than good. A child deserves to know where he comes from and it was cruel of you to keep the truth from him."

The aged Kage sighed. He had thought so as well. The only reason he hadn't revoked his decision was because he felt he had been too far in. He had already lied to Naruto numerous times. Everything was just so…so much more complicated than it really should have been.

"I will, of course, inform him of the truth when I see him next."

"You can't do that!" Koharu seethed. "It was decided long ago that Uzumaki would not learn of his lineage until he was deemed mature enough by _this_ Council."

Mito's head slowly turned towards Koharu. She took a few small steps towards the old councilwoman and gave her a slight smile. "Young lady, I seem to recall the last time you tried to stick your nose into my clan's business…" Koharu's face turned bright red. "I bent you over my knee, and spanked your bottom until it was as red as my hair."

If the ANBU in the room weren't trained as well as they were, they would probably be laughing their asses off right about now. As it was they just stood there quietly, suppressing all sense of amusement they received from the girl's statement and the priceless look on Koharu's face. If nothing else, they were professionals…until they were off duty of course.

"Tell me", Mito continued, "do you think I lack the ability to do so again…right now?"

Koharu glared daggers at the woman before her. She stood up and pointed towards Mito, "The Kyuubi, and it's host, is a weapon that belongs to the village of Konoha, NOT YOU. This council-"

Mito reached into her one of the pockets of her kimono and pulled out an orange leather glove. Hiruzen's, Homura's, and Koharu's eyes widened at the sight.

It was…it was…it was…it was…

The Orange-colored Butt Injurer **(3)**. Mito's ultimate weapon for spanking children who were not good boys/girls. That glove had tasted more ass than Jiraiya during one of his brothel outings. Fun fact: with that very glove, Mito has spanked all four of the past Hokages. **Now for a Brain Bleach Moment**: Only three of which, actually considered it a form of punishment. Another interesting fact was that Senju Tobirama truly hated that name…Uchiha Madara thought it was hilarious.

Koharu watched, with fearful eyes, as Mito slowly slipped the glove over her right hand. The old woman immediately sat down and shut her mouth. The redhead gave Koharu one last look, as if daring her to say something else. It was obvious that the physical damage caused by the dreaded TOBI was eclipsed only by the psychological damage that it caused. When it became obvious that Koharu wouldn't be saying anything else, Mito turned to look at Hiruzen. It had been the second time he had seen Mito's glove in the last hour…so he was bearing slightly better than his former teammates. Slightly. "Mito-sama…"

"The Kyuubi does NOT belong to you." Mito narrowed her eyes. "To any of you! It was defeated by my late husband, Senju Hashirama, and I was the one who first captured it. Since that moment, the Kyuubi has been a sword that's been wielded by the Uzumaki to protect Konoha and it will be no different with Naruto. You may spend your time debating whether the Yoko belongs to the Senju clan or to the Uzumaki clan if you wish. Regardless, I currently represent both clans." Mito stared straight at Hiruzen. "Not one of you understands what it is like to be the host of a Bijuu. So **no**, you do not get an opinion on this matter." She sent a dark look towards Koharu, who had seemingly started to hyperventilate.

"When will you tell him?"

Mito stood up from her position. "He has asked me to prepare him for the finals of the upcoming exams, so I believe I will tell him right away." The red head paused for a moment to stare at Hiruzen directly, "Also, it seems your student was peeping on the woman's side of the hot springs again."

Hiruzen scowled at the new information. The man had said he would be going to speak with Naruto.

Mito turned to leave, but briefly looked back towards Hiruzen. "I will likely keep to the Senju compound. Please visit us at your earliest convenience and we can have that tea." With that last statement, Uzumaki Mito left the Hokage's office…

**~x~**

Mito found Naruto back in the training ground that she had originally left him in. He was still practicing walking on water, but he had actually started going through different katas. The red head approved of that.

Naruto stopped the moment he saw her. "Hey Mito!", the blond waved. He then fell through the surface of the water, eliciting a look of shock from the red head. The genin then burst through the surface of the water did a flip and landed on his hands. He then raised one of his arms so that it was parallel to the water. "I got this one down."

Mito still looked shock, she opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it when she noticed something. Her head turned towards the right of the clearing and her eyes narrowed, "I believe Hiru-chan would like to speak with you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

The girl didn't answer him, she just kept staring off to the side. After several moments, she turned to look at Naruto. "Forgive me, but it seems that the old pervert from the hot springs was spying on you."

"Really?" he flipped himself upright, still on the lake, and quickly looked towards the area that Mito had just been staring at.

"He is gone now, please do not worry yourself over him." The girl smiled at him and decided to steer the conversation back towards his training…and progress. "I am astounded that you were able to achieve so much as quickly as you did."

Naruto grinned and wiped some water away from his face. "Ever since Kaka-sensei taught me how to climb trees with chakra, I've been doing a lot of the training I normally did on the ground, from the trees. I figured it would be useful to be able to fight that way."

Mito nodded, again surprised. She knew, from working with the boy during their time together in Wave Country, that were gaps in Naruto's education. What she hadn't known was that he truly had the instincts of a warrior. His sensei had given him a little exercise and he had taken so much from it. Shame that his growth had been stunted so early on. She vowed to correct it. "About your training…"

If possible, Naruto's smile widened. "Are you going to train me? What are you going to teach me? How long are you going to be in Konoha for? You wanna go to the Ichiraku ramen stand, they're WAY better than old man Takeshi's stand."

She decided that he certainly didn't lack the energy. "There are some things that we must discuss first. Perhaps we can go somewhere private?" Naruto shrugged, which Mito took as an affirmative. "Follow me please.

Naruto nodded and quickly followed after the girl, "Hey, did you ever find that relative of yours?"

Though Naruto couldn't see it, Mito actually frowned at the question. "I did not. I will attempt to look for her again at a later date."

**~x~**

To Naruto's surprise, the duo walked clear across the village before arriving at Mito's mysterious location. The blond had offered his own apartment, but she had been dead set on going to the one she had chosen…which was MUCH nicer than his apartment, Naruto silently admitted.

Mito looked at the great gates of the Senju estate with more than a little bit of nervousness in her stomach. 'It has been too long…' She made a show of drawing blood from her palm, not doubting for a moment that Hiruzen had had his agents tailing her since she left his office, and smeared it over the invisible seal on the gates. Unsurprisingly, to her at least, the great gates opened, allowing Mito to walk inside at her leisure. Naruto, who had been a bit surprised that the gates opened, seemingly on there own, followed her a moment later.

The grounds were the same as they had always been. Judging from the state of the mansion, the Senju compound had not been tended to for well over a decade…yet the plants still looked as beautiful and healthy as ever, such was the power of the First Hokage.

The most beautiful tree on the grounds was a cherry tree that was in full bloom, which overlooked a pond just east of the mansion. On the opposite side of the mountain was a giant two hundred foot sequoia, which dwarfed nearly every building in the village. Aside from those two, there were various kinds of plants and trees littering the grounds, which offered a great diversity of ingredients for herbalists and alchemists…or they would have if any had ever been allowed on the grounds.

Naruto looked in awe at all the plants around the estate. He recognized some of the species in the gardens as plants that he himself tended to, but they all seemed…healthier…and shinier than his plants though. Such was the power of the First Hokage.

"Come along, Naruto." Together the two walked into the house. Mito noticed with more than a little disgust that there was a sheet of dust covering everything. As she had assumed, the house had not been tended to for quite some time. She'd need to clean up before inhabiting the place.

Naruto again, began exploring the place. The first thing he did was look at some pictures that were hanging on the walls, if only to get an idea of who's home he was currently in. To his surprise, he recognized two people right away in the frames. How could he not, they were the first two Hokages of the village. He stared at one picture of the Shodaime and the woman that was standing right next to him. His head snapped towards Mito, "Is this your mom…err…" he silently remembered that the first was actually older than old man Hokage, "…grandma?"

Mito stared at the picture that Naruto was pointing to. "No…actually that is me."

It took a moment for Naruto to fully process what she said. "Huh?"

"That is me, sixty years ago." Naruto looked at the girl as if she had grown a second head. Mito looked Naruto straight in the eyes, "Naruto, I have not been entirely honest with you. It was a lie of omission, but a lie nonetheless. When that picture was taken my name was Senju Mito, but before that I was known by Uzumaki Mito."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Uzumaki?"

Mito nodded. "As far as I know, the two of us are the last members of the Uzumaki clan that populated Uzushiogakure. I used to live here in Konoha, but I left over two decades ago. The reason that I am, biologically, a teenager now is because of…a last gift that my father left behind for me."

"What, like a fountain of youth?"

The girl's face scrunched up, "A suitable metaphor, though my father's legacy was a bit more complicated."

"And you were married to the First Hokage?"

She nodded, "A long time ago." Though it was an arranged marriage, Mito couldn't say that she hadn't grown to love the founder of Konoha. They had had a child together.

"Huh…" Naruto shut his eyes as he went through the information in his head. It actually sounded crazy to him…but why would she lie except to screw with him. Sadly, a lot of people had done just that in the past that he was willing to believe in the latter.

"There is more that you must know. I was the very first human container of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

Naruto's eyes widened, "What!"

Mito nodded. "I was the very first Demon Container as a matter of fact. When other villages learned about what I had done to the Kyuubi, the process of sealing the Bijuu into humans started." The redhead looked at Naruto for a few moments. "Therefore, I am indirectly responsible for you being a Jinchuuriki."

The blond had paled and backed himself against a nearby wall so he could lean against it. Mito took a few steps towards him, but stopped when he gave her a glare. Though she was a little hurt by the look on Naruto's face, she couldn't blame him for it either.

And she wasn't done just yet. "I also sealed the Kyuubi into its second container…your mother."

And with that, Naruto legs wobbled and he slid down the wall and to the floor. Mito didn't move from her spot. Though she wanted to, she refused to move closer until Naruto gave her permission to approach him. "The tales of the Kyuubi being a force of nature were not exaggerated and unlike the other Bijuu it could not be sealed inside of an inanimate object. During a vicious conflict, I had no choice but to seal the beast within my own body…if only to quell it." She paused for a moment to allow that part of the story to sink in. "I kept the beast inside of me for decades, but I soon grew too old to do so for much longer. A new container was needed and due to our supernatural vitality, a young girl of our clan was chosen. That girl was your mother."

Naruto held his head with both hands, hiding his face.

"Some time after your mother was sealed I left. Months after your mother came to Konoha, our ancestral home was set upon, and our clan annihilated. I believed I was close to death and I desired to see my old home once more before I left this world. And then I found my father's gift." The girl looked away for several moments. "I had no idea the consequences my actions would lead to. Though I sealed the Kyuubi to change the course of a battle…it seems that I also damned you and several others to a terrible life…for that I am truly sorry Naruto."

The blond shook his head. After a while, Naruto lowered his hands, "I thought it was just a name. Uzumaki, it was just a name to me. I didn't even think it was the real last name of either of my parents, so it was meaningless to me." Mito flinched at that statement. "But it was the only name I had so I wanted to make it something that everyone would know. Now I find out I have a mom with the same name and I used to have a clan and…kami I don't know what to do with all of that." Naruto turned to look at the teenager…old lady…whatever in front of him. His eyes lost all traces of anger and just held uncertainty. Mito took that as permission to approach him. She pressed her back against the wall and slid down it to sit right next to him. "The old man never told me anything about my parents", the blond said bitterly.

"In his own way, Hiru-chan was trying to protect you." Mito frowned, "I do not think he went about it the right way, but his intentions were just."

Any other day, Naruto would have enjoyed the nickname for the old Hokage immensely. Instead Naruto just shook his head again, "I just hate the fact that EVERYBODY", he threw his arms up high, "knows more about me than I know about myself. It's not fucking fair!" He glared at the girl next to him. "Even you! You know more about me than I do and we just met a few months ago. I don't even know if your lying to me like everyone else!"

Mito turned away, "I have no evidence that you would find acceptable…" The girl immediately stood up and walked away from the scene, with Naruto looked on after her. She returned a few moments later with a picture in her hand, which she handed to Naruto. The picture contained a blond young woman standing next to a small redheaded child. "The blond is my granddaughter and the other is your mother."

Tears stung at Naruto's eyes and he had to force them not to fall.

Again, she sat down next to him. "Hate me if you wish, I will not fault you for doing so. However, please know that I will tell you anything you desire to know, Naru-kun. Though it is likely that you will not like everything I have to say, I swear upon our fallen kinsmen that I will never lie to you again."

"I don't hate you…" Naruto said, barely above a whisper. Mito felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Naruto looked towards her. "Did you know my dad?"

"Namikaze Minato as I understand it."

"The Fourth?"

Mito nodded. Naruto smacked himself on the head and balled his fist in his hair. Soft hands latched on to his and he looked up to see Mito frowning at him. "Please stop."

Naruto let go of his hair and allowed Mito to pull his hand away. She kept holding it. "Wait, if my mom was the Kyuubi container, why did it attack twelve years ago."

The red head frowned, "I am unsure as of yet. It is something that I will be investigating thoroughly though. When I have composed an appropriate report, I will happily give it to you."

The blond nodded. "Damn it, I was supposed to train today…I don't even feel like moving now."

Mito sighed. "If you still want me to, I can help you train for your Chunin exams." The red head's face scrunched up for a moment. "Tomorrow, though. Today, I would like to attempt to make this building habitable, today."

"What will you teach me?"

"It will be difficult." The girl frowned for a moment. "It will be _very_ difficult, perhaps more so than anything that you have ever done. What I have in mind is also very dangerous, so it would require you to stay with me, so that I can keep an eye on you."

Naruto looked around at her last statement. "Here?"

Mito nodded. "For the immediate future. I will also demand absolute obedience." At this, Mito narrowed his eyes. "I will expect you to follow my every command. If you do not, I will dismiss you as my student…permanently."

The Jinchuuriki frowned, but nodded his head, in acceptance.

The girl wasn't done yet though. "I will employ methods most cruel on you and expect compliance when doing so. However, if you follow my criteria, I promise that you will be more than satisfied with the results."

Again Naruto nodded at her. "Alright, I'm in."

Mito smiled, "Good. Tell me, do you know anything about your opponents?"

Naruto frowned, still feeling mentally drained. "My first fight is against that bastard Neji." Thinking back to what he had done to Hinata did nothing to ease his mental fatigue. "His cousin was a classmate of mine and he beat her up really bad, and they are cousins from the same clan!"

"Which clan do they hail from?"

Naruto's face scrunched up, "I think they said the Hyuuga clan."

The red head nodded. "You watched this Neji fight, tell me what you think your chances are?"

Naruto's face twisted into a scowl, "I'll kick his ass no problem."

"Please, tell me without any haughtiness. The truth, how did he look when he battled his cousin?" You could say a lot about a Hyuuga's skill by watching them do battle with another Hyuuga."

The blond sighed. "I could barely see him move. I could barely see Hinata move and I don't think she even touched him."

The girl nodded. "That says quite a bit. The Hyuuga clan is renowned for their Taijutsu style. The greatest strategy to use against them would be to keep them at a distance. However it would be unwise to not train your physical abilities…so I plan to train you to the breaking point."

"What Taijutsu style did the Uzumaki clan use?"

"Unlike the Hyuuga, our clan didn't have one universal style that all of our clan used, however the **Aoiryuuken** was the most infamous. It is an opened palmed style that was hybridized with Fuin jutsu."

"The Uzumaki clan used Fuin jutsu in their Taijutsu style?"

Mito nodded and held up a hand. "It is possible to learn how to draw seal arrays with your chakra. By your account, I believe the ninja who placed the **Gogyo Fuin** on you, made use of this technique." Naruto nodded, thinking back to the snake-nin back in the Forest of Death. Mito curled her fingers and placed her pointer and index fingers on his right shoulder. "With just a touch, I could place a seal on you that would increase your weight by roughly twenty pounds. If I were to place this seal on one side of your body, like say one arm, then the array would disrupt your balance. I could also place a seal on you that would give you an electrical shot every time you tried to mold chakra. And that, as they say, is only the tip of the iceberg."

Naruto grinned when an image entered his head, "Can you put an explosive seal on someone?"

She shook her head, "The seal array required for an explosive seal is far to large and requires far too much prep work to weaponize in such a manner."

That was a bit disappointing, however Naruto decided that the style still seemed really cool. Besides, it was apparently a part of his clan's legacy. "Can you teach me?"

Mito nodded, "I would like to, however the technique that allows one to inscribe arrays with chakra is a difficult one to learn and time consuming. I have something else in mind for tomorrow…for now you should go home and bring enough clothing to last you an entire month. Then perhaps you can assist me by cleaning up whatever room I assign to you." Mito racked her mind and tried to figure out where to put the boy.

Though the Senju compound had close to fifty bedrooms…not all of them were furnished. On the contrary, the last time she was here only four of them were: Mito's (and Hashirama's), Tsunade's, Tobirama's, Nawaki's and Kushina's (during the few years that she had been too young to live by herself).

She didn't want to put him in Tsunade's room. Nawaki's room had been, essentially, turned into a shrine by his sister.

She shuddered to think what they would find in Tobirama's room. Though honorable, the man had been a rascal in his youth. He had never married, but that hadn't stopped him from finding someone to lay next to him nearly every night. In fact, there was an urban legend around Konoha that it was _he_ who first invented jutsus used for birth control…out of necessity over anything else. After the man passed, Mito had all but locked the room up and vowed never to open it. She shuddered at the idea of Naruto staying there.

His mother's room it was. "Your mother stayed with us for several years when she was a little girl." Naruto stiffened at the comment. "Though bare, it still has her furniture. If you wish, you can stay there for the next month."

Naruto nodded.

"Good, now go. We have a great deal of work to do tonight and even more work to do for the rest of this month."

**~End~**

* * *

**Omake: Revenge**

Hiruzen was once again, furiously working in his office, when his secretary buzzed in. _"Hokage-sama."_

The old man pressed down on the intercom, "Go ahead Shion."

"_Naruto-kun is here to see you."_

Hiruzen's frowned, he had been expecting Naruto for some time now. Mito likely told him everything regarding his parents and he wanted to vent his anger at being lied to for so long. "Please send him in." He figured he owed the boy that much at least.

"_Yes Hokage-sama!"_

Naruto entered his office a moment later, with a shit-eating grin on his face. The old man actually had to raise an eyebrow. "Naruto-kun?"

The boy walked all the way up to his desk and leaned over it, his hands were behind his back. "Hello…Hiru-chan!"

The old man narrowed his eyes, "The fuck did you just call me!" The old man got up, placed his hands on his desk and leaned over so that his face was closer to the boy. "Naruto…"

The boy pulled his arms from behind his back and waved his right hand in front of Hiruzen's face.

The old man paled. Naruto was wearing TOBI…Then Sarutobi fainted, slamming his head against the desk at the same time.

Naruto cackled and turned to leave, but turned back at the last moment to walk towards the old man's prone body. He grabbed the old man's hat and placed it on his own head. _Then_ he walked away. "Damn straight I'm taking your hat!" Sadly, the ANBU watching the events unfold were far too amused to stop the boy.

* * *

**Omake: Best Lessons**

Many a Konoha shinobi, of later generations, discussed the nature of the Sannin. More specifically, who of the three was the strongest.

The most popular choice was Senju Tsunade, though it was mostly a feminist thing (some women voted for her without even thinking about it). Those who did think about it, noted her powerful healing abilities and god-like strength.

Orochimaru was the second most popular choice. His mastery of forbidden techniques marked him as the most 'dangerous' of the three.

Then there was Jiraiya, the least popular. Though in truth, the Sannin were all S-ranked shinobi, so a minor difference in power was irrelevant, Jiraiya had an edge over the other two…thought not because of power level.

It's because one Uzumaki Mito managed to impart in him a lesson that she never managed to give to the other two.

An old Mito stood in front of a twelve-year-old Jiraiya. The boy in question was strapped to a machine.

Mito was fingering, what looked to be, a remote control. "Where are your teammates?"

"Orochimaru said his time would be better spent learning something useful and Tsunade didn't want to come here."

Mito sighed, "Very well. I am going to put you in a hypothetical situation and then ask what you would do next. Do you understand?" Jiraiya nodded. "Your gain the upper hand in battle, your opponent is lying on the ground in front of you. He isn't defeated, but it seems improbable that he can turn the tide of the battle. What do you do?"

Jiraiya scoffed, "Obviously I taunt him, poke fun at his views on life and tell him I'm going to destroy everything he cherishes-" Mito pressed the button and Jiraiya felt a current of electricity go through his body, "-YAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The old woman sighed, "The correct answer is, 'you finish the battle as quickly and efficiently as possible.' Next question: you are in a similar situation; you perform an amazing feat to turn the tide of a battle and your opponent clearly doesn't understand what it was that you did and asks you to explain it to him or her. What do you do?"

"I explain it to them as slowly as possible, bringing out visuals and flashbacks if necessary-" SHOCK "-YAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Mito sighed again. "The correct answer is, 'you deny them the information and finish the battle as quickly and efficiently as possible.' Next question: you clearly outnumber an enemy force, what do you do?"

"Split up-" SHOCK "-YAAAAAHHHHH!" The electricity eventually stopped, "I send in my forces in order from weakest to strongest-" SHOCK "-YAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

It would be a long night, but Jiraiya would eventually learn the lesson that Mito set out to teach him…and it was because of that early lesson that Jiraiya would become the strongest of his teammates

Though Tsunade would eventually piece together the lesson herself, she would still lack certain parts of it. Orochimaru never learned the lesson…that was probably because the man loved to talk to whoever was willing to listen...and even those that weren't.

**~End~**

* * *

**(1) **For the record, I don't think Mito is actually THAT much stronger than Jiraiya, that she could beat him with very little effort on her part. It was more along the lines of that she caught him by surprise…which that last omake should have taught him to avoid.

**(2)** Swooping is bad.

**(3)** Gonna be honest, I spent so long coming up with that acronym and I don't even think it was all that funny. Sigh…

**A/N: Third chapter is a really long one, but it should be done soon. I'll probably try to get it out by next week, at around the same time. Anyway, stay tuned.**

**And remember if you want more TOBI filled fun, please give me reviews.**


	3. Training from Hell

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, DBZ, or Mulan. Keep in mind that this is in NOway a crossover. I just borrowed an element from each and I felt like mentioning it.**

**A/N: Wow…you guys REALLY liked the bit with TOBI. Despite the fact that Mito was, essentially, abusing children…**

**I'm a little ashamed of you guys right now…**

**Anyway, on with the fic.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Training From Hell**

**~29 days before the finals~**

At dawn, Mito woke up to a ceiling that she hadn't seen in decades. One she didn't think she would ever see again. With Tsunade's exodus and Kushina's death, she didn't think she had a reason to ever return to Konoha again. That changed when she met him. Though not technically family, they still shared the blood of the Uzumaki clan. Besides, as she told Naruto the day before, his burden of being a Jinchuuriki was indirectly her responsibility. She needed to at least make sure that he could defend himself…something that his superiors, in her opinion, were doing an inadequate job in doing.

Mito got up and dressed herself in a red tank top and a pair of black pants. She thought about putting on a pair of shinobi sandals, but opted to go barefoot instead. She then tied her long red hair into a simple ponytail. Finally, she left her room and went to the kitchen.

She was surprised to see a set of dishes in the drying rack next to the sink. She knew they weren't there last night. She originally planned to cook something for Naruto, as an apology for the hell she was soon going to put him through, but it seemed that he had beat her to it. She walked to the front door and let herself out. Sure enough, Naruto was there…two Narutos in fact. The two faced off for a moment before dashing at each other. They got into a short skirmish before the real one managed to land a hit on the clone, causing it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Impressive."

Naruto turned to the sound of the voice to find Mito staring back at him. "Oh, hey Mito-sensei!"

"That was the **Kage Bunshin no jutsu**." Naruto had already told her that he could perform the technique, however it was entirely different to see him perform it firsthand.

"Yea, it's a super cool jutsu I learned the night I graduated!"

Mito frowned at that. She remembered the talk with Naruto so many months ago and the one with Sarutobi the day before. Pieces of an incomplete picture began to line up before her eyes. "It is a useful skill."

"Do you know it?" The girl shook her head. Naruto grinned as a thought hit him, "I could teach it to you if you want!"

"I never learned the technique, not out of inopportunity but because I never desired to. The large chakra requirements made the technique inconvenient for me to use. As a Jinchuuriki, you are not bound by that particular limitation." She could have probably learned the technique while _she_ was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, however the technique fell out of her particular style so she never bothered to. "Though I do know a variant, the **Kage Shurikan no jutsu**. Nonetheless, I am the one who needs to be training you, if you recall."

Naruto nodded, "So what do we do first?"

"I need to grab my pack from inside, meet me out back in fifteen minutes." With that, Mito turned and went back into the house. She didn't actually need that long to grab her pack, she just thought she'd take a few minutes to actually have breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, the two Uzumakis met up in the back of the estate. Naruto looked across the field and saw one of the most complex training fields that he had ever seen. "That obstacle course is set up as a training aid, I would like you to run it."

The blond nodded and did as he was told. He climbed a rope, crawled under barbed wire, hopped between rocks, dived through a tunnel, evaded swinging sandbags, scaled up a rock wall, balanced on a beam, and jumped over a pit. It took him exactly three minutes to get through the course and he was actually winded after going through it. Mito, for her part, looked pleased at his run. Afterwards, the two had walked around the estate, to the large sequoia tree at the front of the grounds.

The girl pointed up to the top of the tree. "Do you see the kunai sticking to the top of the tree?" Naruto easily spied the kunai near the top, there was an orange tassel tied around it that made it easier to see. "We have twenty-nine days before your final exam. When you have climbed to the top of the tree and pulled out the kunai, your training will be complete."

Naruto snorted, "I'll grab it right now!" With that the blond grinned and dashed forward, already concentrating chakra to the soles of his feet. When he got three feet away from the base, however, he immediately fell and slammed into the ground. He felt an immense amount of pressure pressing down on him.

"The tree is surrounded by an advanced weight seal." There was a great amount of mirth in the girl's tone of voice. "Any human that steps within a three foot radius of the tree here will be affected. The seal itself increases the force of gravity around the target. At this moment, you probably weigh five times more than what you normally weigh." Mito reached into the seal, grimacing at the change in pressure, and pulled Naruto out of the area of effect. Once out of the array, he gasped for breath. "Though the array takes time to write, it can make for an effective trap if you can manage it."

'No kidding', Naruto thought bitterly as he got off the ground. He took one last look towards the top of the tree.

"Do you see why I do not expect you to reach the kunai before the end of the month?"

Silently, Naruto wondered what kind of training she was going to put him through that would eventually allow him to climb a two hundred foot tall tree with _that_ seal in place.

"There are three methods to weaponizing seals for combat, I mentioned the first form yesterday: writing sealing arrays with chakra." To emphasize her point, she poked him on the cheek. She then gestured towards the tree, "You have just been introduced to the second, and most common, form: placing traps. The final method is to attach them to weapons, either directly or through the use of tags. It is also the easiest and quickest method to learn and the one you will make use of during this exam. I will provide you with all the training and materials you will need…however I will not be making anything for you. Anything you want to take with you, you will have to create yourself."

Naruto nodded. He could only imagine what kind of neat 'toys' Mito had in her arsenal…but it wouldn't actually be a victory if he won using someone else's weapons.

"However, simply producing an arsenal of weapons will not be enough. The most important part of this next month is to train your body. Under different circumstances, considering your current level, I would suggest that you simply train your body normally. However, since we are short on time and you will be entering an important competition, we will be taking a short cut."

Naruto actually cocked an eyebrow at that. Iruka had always told him that there weren't any short cuts to training. "What do you mean?"

"There are two paths open to you." Mito narrowed her eyes, "The quickest and easiest method would be to take full control of the Bijuu inside of you."

The blonde's eyes widened for a moment, before he looked down, allowing his bangs to hide his eyes.

"I am not sure if Hiru-chan or anyone else has spoken to you regarding it, but I can help you take control of it. I have the knowledge to do so and it would be quite a simple action for me to do. If that is your wish."

Naruto didn't need much time to formulate a response. "What's the other way?" There was an edge in the blonde's tone.

"You do not approve of this method?"

The blond shrugged. "Your making me make my own Fuin weapons, when you could probably just give me something a thousand times better than what I can make and I get that. If you were to just give me something, then I would be counting on your skills, not mine. It's the same thing; if I just learn how to use the bastard fox then I'll just be relying on it's power, not mine."

Mito smiled. "One day, you will need to learn to use the Bijuu's chakra, however I agree, you must first learn how to rely on your own strength." Mito gestured for him to follow her back around the house. "My grandmother developed a training regiment that became popular in Uzushio when I was a child." She turned to Naruto. "Are you familiar with the **Hachimon**?"

Naruto's memory flashed back to the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams. "Yea, fuzzy brows used it against that sand guy back in the Chunin exams."

The girl made a mental note to ask about the nicknames at a later time. "The training regiment revolves around the first gate, the **Kaimon**. Normally, a human is able to use, roughly, twenty percent of there physical strength at a time. If a person were to use more than twenty percent, there muscles would degenerate. The **Kaimon**, in a way, acts as a limiter to protect the body from harming itself. My grandmother's training involves getting passed this inherent weakness and permanently removing this limiter."

Naruto nodded, trying to take her lecture in. "How?"

"Normally, you would train until you could open the **Kaimon** yourself. You would open the seal and keep it open until your muscles get used to the strain of the removal of the limiter. You would need a competent medic-nin to keep an eye on you and constantly heal any serious damage done to your muscles. During this time, the constant deterioration and regeneration of your muscles increases your physical abilities further. The regiment itself is quite painful and normally spans six months." She gave Naruto a sharp look. "I am expecting you to do it in one."

Again, "How?"

"Your healing factor", she answered. "I believe it should allow you to adapt faster to this regiment. At the same time I believe we can also throw some caution to the wind and avoid certain safety precautions."

He just had to ask, "Safety precautions?"

"Normally, the first month is spent becoming accustomed to moving around while under the strain of the training. We will be avoiding that and going straight to the training portion of this regiment."

They finally reached the back of the compound again. "Did you go through it?"

Mito nodded. "I did, though my father's legacy did reset my body's limiter when it gave me back my youth. Your mother did as well, prior…to being sealed."

A tinge of anger swelled within the blond…not at Mito…well partially at Mito. He just wondered if his mother went through a similar ordeal with the villagers of Konoha. Though he didn't really know her, the idea of it pissed him off to no end. "I'll do it, how do I open the **Kaimon**?"

"You do not." The girl looked at him with a solemn look. "The art of learning to open the **Hachimon** is long, so we will be taking another short cut." She placed her left hand on the boy's head. Though he felt a strange sensation coming off of her hand, he didn't see blue chakra that was radiating from it. "I will force it open and seal it so. Are you ready?" She held up her other hand and it began to glow purple.

Naruto gulped when he saw the chakra radiating from the girl's right hand, but nodded. Then she slammed two fingers into his forehead.

The difference was night and day. A tremor ran through Naruto's body and his knees nearly buckled. His body temperature increased. A tinge of pain briefly flashed down his arms and legs. At the same time, he felt a surge of energy replenish his stamina.

Mito watched as black symbols danced around Naruto's forehead before receding into a coin-sized array hidden under his hair. "How do you feel?" Still lost in the sensations of the changes, it took Naruto a few moments to formulate a response. He finally cocked a grin at her. "Good, run the course."

Naruto did as he was told. The results were dizzying. He was faster, that much was evident from the beginning. The main issue was that he needed less effort for slight movements. He tended to overextend himself on several instances and nearly ended up slipping several times. By the end, Naruto landed right in front of Mito. "How'd I do that time?"

"Just under two minutes and thirty seconds. Your speed has increased dramatically, but you need to learn to adapt to your physical capabilities."

Naruto nodded, "So, what's next?"

Mito smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. 'It truly is a shame that he will not be like this throughout the whole month.' "How about a light run?"

The blond frowned, "I guess. Shouldn't we be sparring or something?"

'Such a shame…' "How about a race? There are a line of trees running along the walls of this compound, the rules are simple: do not touch the ground." Naruto actually seemed pumped up at the idea.

The two of them reached one of the walls of and climbed to the top of one of the trees. Mito grabbed another kunai with an orange tassle and stuck it to the tree the two were standing on. "Are you prepared?" Mito's stance was casual. Naruto knees were bent, ready to launch himself to the next branch the moment she started the race. "Three…two…one…go!"

Again the difference was night and day. As Naruto jumped from tree to tree he literally shook every branch he set foot on, which was emphasized by the leaves that shook free and fell. Mito, on the other hand, didn't so much as shake a branch. To Naruto's eyes, it didn't even seem like she had touched the tree at all. The only other person he had ever seen who moved in such a manner had been Kakashi.

By the end, Mito had won the race, much to Naruto's chagrin. Mito just smiled back at him, "Another round?"

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

Naruto gestured towards the trees, "It didn't even look like you were touching any of the branches! How'd you move like that?"

The girl smiled, "It takes practice. I can move a little slower this time if you want to watch me?"

Naruto nodded.

**~x~**

During that day, Mito continued pushing Naruto to his very breaking point. With every passing exercise, Naruto found, much to his pleasure, that he was getting used to his new physical attribute. Between exercises, Mito lectured him on Fuin jutsu. She would also test him on things she taught him earlier. An incorrect answer was usually followed up by a dulled projectile being hurled at his head. Lunch and dinner were the only two times the pair took a break…and even then Mito would lecture on and on.

They even sparred a little, which is when Mito had shown him a second Taijutsu style, common in Uzushigakure, named **Kurokameken**. The style was…**infuriating**. Mito just stood casually, in no discernable stance, while Naruto tried to hit her. She would normally avoid any strike by simply stepping an inch or so to the side of it, while telling him what he did wrong in any particular attack. The first time he repeated a mistake that she _corrected_, she grabbed his punching arm and hurl him to the side using his own momentum. Repeating a mistake after that second _warning_ was considerably more painful.

Finally, a few minutes after dusk set in, Mito invited the boy inside the Senju compound to sit inside an empty room. She gave the boy a look at he had already deciphered as her _'I'm-about-to-lecture-look'_. "Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu are the three most basic skills that a shinobi is expected to posses." Mito gave the boy a sharp look, "I have seen you use Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Tell me, how is your Genjutsu?"

Nonexistent. The boy could only look nervous at the question.

"It is something that you will have to work on at a later time. For now, I will help you tap into a unique ability granted to you by the Kyuubi no Yoko." Naruto actually perked up at the thought. "You already benefit from a supernatural healing factor and enormous chakra reserves; those are both innate. However, you can also tap into a third ability, a type of clairvoyant empathy."

"Huh?"

"It means that you can learn how to sense emotions on a psychic level."

The blond frowned as he thought that over. At first he wanted to say that that particular ability didn't sound all that useful…especially if it came from the _'oh so great'_ Kyuubi no Yoko. 'Why can't the dumb fox give me something that would let me blow stuff up with my mind?' Then a thought hit Naruto. "Could I use it to tell if people are lying to me?"

Mito nodded, seeming quite pleased, "If you learn interpret the emotions you sense, such as sadness or fear, you should be able to use it to tell if somebody is lying to you. It is an ability that I even learned to harness in combat and to detect others at short range." Seeing the look of confusion on the boy's face, she decided to clarify. "Imagine that you are alone in the middle of a forest. You suddenly sense an emotion, let's say anger or fear or murderous intent, then obviously you are not alone are you?"

This time Naruto nodded. "Alright, so how do we start?"

"For now, just meditate with me. We will take this one step at a time."

**~x~**

Mito let him go a few hours later, telling him to not go further in his training. He actually found it a shame, despite everything they had already done; he actually still had plenty of energy. Either way, he figured he'd get an early night and wake up bright and early the next day.

Luckily, the room that had been provided to him…which had once been his mothers, he silently reminded himself…had it's own bathroom. He grabbed a towel to take a quick shower, and walked back out with the towel wrapped around his waist, which was fortunate, because Mito was waiting for him in his room.

The girl in question was wearing a simple kimono, most likely her sleepwear. Her hair was damp, so Naruto thought it likely that she had just come from a shower herself. "Hey…" the boy said nervously.

"If you would, please lie down on your stomach." She gestured towards the bed on the other side of the small room. Before he could ask why, she answered, "Though I am not a medic-nin, I am versed in some techniques and I would like to take a look to see how your muscles are faring to the stress caused by today's training."

Naruto shrugged, "They feel fine." In truth, his muscles felt like they were on fire, a sensation he hadn't felt to such an extreme since his first days at the Ninja Academy. However, he didn't feel like it was anything too serious. In fact, he was wondering why Mito said this regiment was so dangerous at all.

"I would very much like to see for myself." Again she gestured towards the bed. The blond Uzumaki shrugged and decided to do as she asked. He assumed that she would just come around the bed and poke and prod him in the arms a couple of times before leaving. She…did not do that. Instead she actually joined him on the bed and sat on top of the boy's hindquarters. Naruto actually yelped and looked up in surprise. Mito pushed his head back down on the bed and began kneading his back with both hands.

Naruto nearly let out a moan at the sensations she was brining him, but managed to hold it in. "What are you doing?" He could barely see the girl hunched over his back from his peripherals."

"As I mentioned, I do not know any of the advanced techniques that a Iryo-nin uses, so I can only look you over using less sophisticated techniques." She finished lecturing. "At the same time, doing things this way is beneficial."

Beneficial or not, Naruto was just grateful that he was laying face down, so the girl on top of him wasn't able to see a certain part of his anatomy.

"You need to consume more protein in your diet."

At that point, Naruto was barely conscious enough to care about…whatever it was that she said. The girl was successfully massaging away his higher-level thought processes. Once she finished on his back, she moved to his neck and shoulders, and then to his arms. Afterwards, she finally got off of him and began working on his legs. By the end, Naruto didn't even acknowledge her when she stopped and left. He just let himself fall asleep, content that the following month would be a breeze.

**~ 28 days before the finals ~**

Naruto woke up before dawn, like he did the day before. The moment he did, excruciating pain effectively knocked any sleepiness out of him. It was so intense that he actually wanted to scream out until his lungs were hoarse. Instead, he simply let out a groan. Naruto tried to move his leg off the bed, only to feel a sharper pain erupt from it. His entire being was throbbing. Little by little, he managed to inch his way off of the bed…and fall straight onto the floor. He yelped, when his body made contact with the hardwood floors of the room.

The boy groaned and pushed his body up. His arms were wobbly and he found it difficult to keep his balance, but somehow he managed it. With one hand, he reached up to the bed to steady himself and slowly began to pull himself up. His knees buckled and he would have fallen flat on the ground again if he hadn't been holding on to the bed.

He attempted again to pull himself up and eventually managed to, though he was hunched over the bed. Now he just needed to make it to…

"You did not rise early this morning."

Naruto would've jumped, if the very idea didn't terrify him beyond reason. Instead he, slowly, turned to face the girl in question. Mito was, once again, dressed in the same training attire she had worn the day before.

"How are you feeling?" A short whimper was the only response she received. "I will begin breakfast, so please attempt to be at the table within fifteen minutes." The girl made to leave but stopped herself as she gazed up and down Naruto. "Also, please wear _clothing_." With that, she left the room.

The blonde's eyes widened when he remembered that he had fallen asleep in nothing but a towel. And a quick glance down made him realize that the towel had fallen off when he was crawling around on the ground. He blushed…and lost his balance, sending him back to the floor again. And then, to add insult to injury, his stomach growled. The boy sighed, he just needed to get dressed and make it over to the kitchen within fifteen minutes.

He made it in thirty.

He finally managed to limp his way over to the table to find the girl in question reading a book. There were two bowls on the table, but only his was full, with fried rice by the look of it. He figured that she had already eaten her own portion. He sat down and wobbly grasped the chopsticks that were sitting by his plate. However, his hand refused to hold them correctly and he ended up having great difficulty picking up a single grain. He growled and dropped the chopsticks on the table and began picking at his bowl with one hand. He managed to shove a handful into his waiting mouth.

Though he had never been one for fried rice, with his empty stomach and the extreme pain running through his system it may as well have been ramen in his mind.

Before he could grab a second handful, a soft hand grabbed his. He looked up to see Mito glaring at him. Wordlessly, she held up his discarded chopsticks for him. Though he tried to give her his best 'kicked puppy' face, she just gestured to the chopsticks again. Sighing, he took them and tried again and again…and again…and again…and again to use them to eat. Eventually he managed to pick a small portion up and lead it to his waiting mouth.

"We should talk about the rest of your training."

Naruto looked up at her sharply, as if to say: _'there's more?'_

"I already told you about your final test." Naruto nodded, he just had to…climb a two hundred foot tree…in an area where he would weigh five times more than he does now. Naruto nearly let his head fall to the table…in fact, not having to use muscle power to sit upright sounded kinda nice in his opinion. "There are three more tests that you will have to complete. During training today, you will likely realize that you will have much greater difficulty controlling your chakra." Naruto's eyes widened at the statement. "It is the pain, it will upset your control. Your first test is to perform the **Kawarimi no jutsu**. I will expect you to remaster the technique within seven days."

Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Will it really be that difficult?" The replacement technique was the technique he mastered before any of the others. To think that he would need seven days to relearn it sounded…depressing.

"That will depend on you. The following week you will undergo a test for the **Henge no jutsu **and the week after you will undergo a **Bunshin no jutsu **exam."

At that last part, Naruto frowned. "Can I do the **Kage Bunshin no jutsu **instead?" Mito shook her head. "But I could never do the regular clone technique!"

"You have learned various chakra control exercises after your graduation, have you tried performing the basic bunshin recently."

Naruto shut his mouth. "No…"

"I expect you to have it mastered within twenty one days."

Naruto frowned. "What if I can't?"

Mito gave him a sharp look. "If you complete each of your exams at the allotted time, I will reward you…perhaps with a brand new ninjutsu?" The blond perked up at the idea of a new jutsu. "However, if you failed to perform a technique on the day I specified, then I am afraid that I will be forced to punish you." Naruto cringed at that…then grimaced in pain. "When you are finished with your breakfast, you will run the obstacle course again."

The boy nodded and little by little continued eating his breakfast.

Soon, Naruto found himself outside again staring at the obstacle course that he found fun only yesterday. On Mito's signal, he ran the track.

He climbed the stupid rope, crawled under the dumb barbed wire, hopped between the retarded rocks, dived through a stupid-ass tunnel, evaded fucking sandbags, scaled up the crappy rock wall, balanced on a beam, and finally jumped over the pit that some asshole dug in the middle of the fucking course. It took him a full ten minutes before he was standing in front of Mito again

"Run it again."

Naruto sighed, but did as he was told. He climbed the stupid rope, crawled under the dumb ass barbed wire, hopped between the fucking rocks, dived through a stupid tunnel, evaded fucking sandbags, scaled up the dumb rock wall, balanced on a stupid beam, and…really who the fuck was the smart guy who decided to dig a fucking pit? WHO DOES THAT! Again, it took Naruto about ten minutes to finish the course.

"Run it again."

The boy glared at her, "How many times are you going to make me run this stupid course!"

Mito's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Until you stop cursing. Will you disobey me?" Naruto took a step back, remembering the girl's words from yesterday: _"I will expect you to follow my every command. If you do not, I will dismiss you as my student…permanently."_

Naruto shook his head, "No Mito-sensei." And so Naruto ran the stup…very nice course again. He just knew this day was going to suck.

The days passed on in much the same manner as it had the day before, except this time his muscles were screaming at him…and he kinda wished this time he wished for the day to end ASAP. It made listening to Mito's lectures a lot harder…which, like the day before, always ended with blunt projectiles being aimed at his head. By the end of the, Naruto was grateful when he and Mito began meditating.

That night, he limped his way back to his room and slowly started for the bathroom, when Mito stopped by his door again. The girl had changed out of her training attire and was currently wearing a pink bathrobe. "Naru-kun, I imagine it would be difficult to clean properly in your condition. Would you like to bathe with me?"

Naruto faces turned red and, after appreciating the mental image, quickly shook his head.

Mito nodded, "Very well. I will return at a later time to check up on your muscles again", and left.

The blond sighed and let his head fall against a nearby wall. 'This is gonna suck…'

**~ 21 days before the finals~**

Nine days after Mito first arrived to the village, Hiruzen managed to finally get away from his duties to visit the Senju Compound. The two were having a cup of tea under the cherry tree.

Not for the first time, Hiruzen was admiring the scenery around him, "The garden is as beautiful as ever, Mito-sama."

The girl smiled at the compliment. "I agree, it truly is a sight to behold. Though it is a shame that the house has gone so long without any maintenance. How long has it been since Tsunade-chan has been here?"

"Well over a decade", he replied before taking a sip of his tea. "How goes young Naruto's training?"

Off to the side, they both heard an outraged yell. "GOD DAMN IT!"

Mito chose to ignore him. "Well enough. What he lacks in training, he more than makes up for in strength of will. I find it remarkable."

"That it is", Hiruzen said with a smile. "Tell me, what exactly is he doing?"

Mito glanced at the boy in question. "He is in the middle of an exam of sorts. He simply must continuously perform the **Kawarimi no jutsu** for a whole hour." That was the **short** version. The **long** version was a bit more complicated-

"DAMN IT!"

-and painful.

Hiruzen nodded, "The 'official statistics' are in for all of the prospective chunin, they give Naruto fifty-to-one odds in defeating Neji. I've known Naruto long enough to know that his chances are quite higher than most people give him credit for. I think there are going to be quite a few unhappy gamblers at the Chunin Exams."

Mito's face twisted in to a frown. "It would serve them right."

Hiruzen had to take a deep breath to calm himself. It was a little known fact that Mito abhorred gambling…even more than she hated alcohol. The old man cleared his throat. "I wanted to speak with you about something. Have you interacted with many people since your return?"

The redhead frowned, "I would not consider them to be many, though my viewpoint is subjective."

'True enough', Hiruzen nodded. "Have you mentioned your name to anyone?"

Mito thought back to the few people she interacted with. A receptionist at the hot springs, several cashiers at the market and Hiruzen's 'perky' receptionist. "I gave only my first name."

"That's good. I've been talking it over with both Homura and Koharu, and we all agree that it would be best to keep the truth of you return a secret from the populace."

The redhead frowned, "You would have me lie?"

The old man nodded, "Would you prefer to have everyone know that you have knowledge of a way to regain one's youth."

Now that she thought of it, she realized that having the population of Konohagakure know the truth promised to be an annoyance, at best, and a threat, at worst. In spite of the fact that she didn't think anyone would ever be able to reproduce the affects of her father's research…it was likely that they would still try to do so. "What would you have me say?"

"Simple, you and your mother escaped the destruction of Uzushio. When your mother passed away, you decided to come here. Senju Mito was you great aunt, which should explain your name and any resemblance you bare to 'her'."

The girl nodded slowly. "It sounds…simple."

The old man nodded, "It is the simplest explanation, by far."

The teen put down her cup of tea and bowed her head to the man in front of her. "By the way, I wanted to humbly offer you my talents as a Fuin jutsu specialist."

That was actually part of the reason that Hiruzen had wanted to speak with the girl. Having someone of Mito's skills looking over the village's sealing arrays, and hopefully make improvements, was too good of a chance to pass up. "Would you accept credit as payment for your work?" Fuin specialists were a rare breed and as such they demanded a high price for any services rendered. "With the village in the middle of the Chunin exam, I don't believe I will be able to pay your full price in actual ryo at this moment." It wasn't that the village couldn't afford to hand out a large amount of real cash…simply the possibility of having their defenses compromised by one of the many foreign ninja within their gates made doing so highly shortsighted.

Hiruzen waited until the redhead took a long sip of her tea before she answered. "Credit is acceptable."

He nodded, mostly in gratitude. Another thought made the old man frown though, "Do you need money right away?"

"My situation is not so desperate. However, my finances are not limitless and I will have need to replenish them in the not too distant future. In truth I had thought about borrowing funds from the Senju accounts-", Hiruzen nearly choked on his tea, "-however I decided against it." The kage relaxed again. "It is Tsunade's inheritance and the thought of taking money from it made me feel immoral." Hiruzen nodded at her, as if agreeing with the girl's statement. Mito then turned to stare at the house. "However, for her sake I think I will use some of her money to order some much needed repairs to her home." Again, Hiruzen nearly choked on his tea, which Mito caught this time. "You did bring the Senju account information…did you not?"

The old man sighed and rubbed his head. He was not going to enjoy this conversation. A manila folder appeared in the man's hand and he placed it on the table in front of her. "The truth is-" He began as Mito flipped the folder open. "-there is nothing left in the Senju accounts."

The Uzumaki's eyes widened before she frantically began flipping through the folder. "How is that possible, Tsunade could not have possibly used up so much money in only twenty four years." That wasn't a credit to Tsunade 'responsibility, but to the vast fortune and assets of the Senju clan. Just the liquid assets should have been enough to support a small family for decades, and Tsunade was the only Senju left. Mito's eyes kept scanning through the folder given to her. Before her eyes, Mito saw large withdrawal after withdrawal being taken out of the Senju accounts. 'What could she have spent so much money on? Certainly not her home!'

'Actually, she spent her wealth in ten years', the man thought to himself…Mito didn't need to know that though. "The truth is", the old man began with a sigh, "After you left", his heart began racing, "Tsunade became", he began sweating, "something of a high-stakes gambler." Left unsaid was that she was a very poor high-stakes gambler.

Mito just stared at the old man before her eyes. On instinct, Naruto began using the kawarimi to move away from Mito and Hiruzen.

**~x~**

After finally finishing his exam, Naruto was surprised to see that neither Hiruzen nor Mito were within sight. After looking around the grounds for a while, he entered the compound to see Mito in the kitchen. His nose twitched and he had to stop himself from gagging. "Did the old man leave?"

Mito nodded, seemingly in a daze. The girl was currently…cooking, yet she was obviously just staring straight ahead. It was obvious that she wasn't even looking at what was in the pan.

"Oh…okay. I finished the exam"

The girl just nodded again. "I knew you would." It was obvious within ten minutes that Naruto would have no problem finishing the test. The only reason she hadn't stopped him before was because she thought the repetition would do him some good. "Lunch will be served soon, we can discuss your reward then. Go get washed up."

The blond nearly whimpered. "Alright…hey by the way, you do know that those noodles are…black…and on fire."

Surprised by the claim, Mito looked down. "Oh dear, it appears that I burned lunch."

'No kidding.' The blond thought.

The girl smiled nervously and gave Naruot a sheepish look, "You have been doing quite well these past days, how about we eat out?"

The boy grinned.

**~x~**

"Hey I have a question." Naruto said after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. The duo had gone, on Naruto's insistence, to the Ichiraku's ramen stand. "I saw a girl using a sealing scroll during the preliminaries. She used the scroll and weapons kept appearing in her hands one at a time."

Mito nodded, "Yes…", she began, not yet sure what his question was.

"But why didn't all of them appear at the same time? They just appeared _one at a time_."

"There is a special character you can place on a sealing array that will summon sealed weapons in succession, instead of all at once. I will show it to you when we return to the compound."

The boy nodded and turned back to Teuchi's legendary, in Naruto's opinion, dish. Ayame was apparently running an errand and wasn't expected to return anytime soon. The old ramen chef…was giving him the same weird looks that Takeshi, the old ramen vender from Wave, had given him. 'Seriously, how do you give someone a thumbs up with your eyes?' While the boy was caught in his musings, he hadn't noticed the man that came to sit next to him.

"Hey Naruto, how's it shaking?"

The boy in question turned and smiled the moment he saw who was sitting next to him, "Iruka-sensei, what's up!" He then, much to Iruka's surprise, turned to the girl next to him. "Mito-sensei-"

'Sensei?' the chunin thought suspiciously.

"-this is one of my senseis from way back at the Academy." He then turned back to Iruka, "This is Mito-sensei, she's helping me train for the finals!"

"I heard you had made it all the way, congrats Naruto." Iruka gave the girl a suspicious look. He hadn't recognized her at all, and she seemed young enough that she would have at least had been at the Academy while he taught at it. He had to wonder why a girl so young was tutoring Naruto. 'Where is Kakashi?'

At the same time, Mito was giving him a cool look. She knew Naruto's education had been sabotaged…she wondered if this Iruka had taken part in it.

"Are you alright Naruto?" Iruka looked the boy up and down. "You look tired."

The boy grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Yea…training has been pretty intense." 'And painful.' "But I'm getting used to it and I'm getting a lot stronger to."

Iruka nodded, "Well that's a good thing." Then the man turned towards the young redhead sitting next to Naruto. "And you're the one helping him train?" The girl in question nodded. "Thanks for helping out Naruto."

"It has been a pleasure to work with him", she replied before taking a sip of her tea.

The man looked at the girl carefully, "You're awfully young though, to be tutoring someone, aren't you?"

After placing her cup down, Mito looked at the man coolly, "Do you believe that age has a direct correlation to skill?"

The man blushed and rubbed the back of his head. This time he laughed nervously, "Sorry, didn't mean it like that."

The girl stared at the man for a few more moments. Afterwards, Mito decided that she was wrong about her suspicions. Their relationship just seemed so…brotherly.

After she reached that conclusion, the atmosphere in the ramen shack warmed considerably.

**~x~**

After lunch, the two bid Iruka farewell and returned to the compound. Mito ended up asking Naruto about his 'reward' for completing the first exam: a Ninjutsu of his choice. He of course quickly said he wanted to learn a kick ass jutsu that caused giant explosions.

She then decided to mention that any powerful jutsu she could help him learn would likely only be the results of months of training his elemental affinity. She instead offered to help him get in touch with his affinity, though she doubted he would get much use out of it for several months.

Instead, Naruto asked her to teach him a jutsu she mentioned when they first started their training, the **Kage Shurikan no jutsu**.

Much to his surprise he actually found it to be quite similar to the **Kage Bunshin** and managed to learn it by the end of the day.

**~19 days before the finals~**

Two days after the discussion with Hiruzen, a pair of ANBU had arrived at the gates of the compound. They produced a scroll that identified them as Mito's escort to the hospital.

Naruto watched the display from a short distance away. "What's going on?"

Mito glanced at Naruto while rolling up the scroll. "I have applied to work on some of the arrays around the Konoha, for the Hokage."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "What like traps?"

"Not quite", Mito frowned. "It is likely that I will be gone for a short time over the next few days, would you be interested in coming with me for this trip?" And it was only to the hospital. She doubted she would get a chance to bring him along if she were taken somewhere more…restricted.

Naruto shrugged.

Together the group of four quickly made their way to Konoha's hospital and went to one of the surgery rooms. "You see Naruto, doctors used a wide variety of tools in their job. One of the most common ones is, of course, medicine. This is simply an advanced form of herbalism. They also use a wide range of surgical instruments and machinery. However, doctors that have access to iryo-nin jutsu can also use-"

"Sealing arrays?" Naruto interrupted.

Mito nodded. "They can use an array to enhance their techniques, either by fine-tuning the healing chakra or by creating a type of synergy between multiple iryo-nins." She gestured towards the giant array that was painted on the floor. "This type of array is the latter."

The doctor, who had been watching the 'so-called fuin specialist', was actually surprised that she had managed to deduce the arrays function so quickly.

"Take a good look at the array…because I want to point out everything that is wrong with it."

The doctor's eyes widened as she began speaking another language…and the boy actually seemed to understand her. The doctor gave the two ANBU in the room a questioning look. They both just shrugged and continued watching the two Uzumaki silently. After about an hour the duo broke away from the array and Mito asked to be taken to the next room.

On the way, Naruto ran into a friend. Someone from his class, Mito assumed. She walked into the room ahead of him and began scanning the second array. After a while Naruto waved for her attention. "Do you mind if I go visit a friend?"

She ignored the 'I aim to misbehave'-look on the boy's face and just gestured him away, "Of course not, go ahead." Naruto and the other boy ran off a moment later.

Without having to take the time to explain the sealing array to Naruto, she managed to get done with the second seal much faster than she did with the first. Soon enough she broke off from the seal and was about to ask to be escorted to the next array when a…_strange_ man approached her.

The eyebrows were just…too much. "Forgive me for disturbing you but I had heard a competent Fuin specialist was enhancing the arrays used by our doctors." Slowly, Mito nodded.

The man introduced himself as Maito Gai; one of Konoha's elite jounin, if the rumors were true. He was the sensei of a genin who had been seriously hurt during the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams. He had been hoping that an upgraded medical seal would help the doctor's treat his ailing student. Though she repeatedly explained that she wasn't actually an iryo-nin, the girl agreed that she would take a look at the man's student….

If only to take a look at this student of his, a genin that could not mold chakra. Gai and Mito were in the middle of a discussion when they both froze. Gai took off first and Mito followed half a step behind. Gai dashed into a hospital room.

Mito looked into the room and found Naruto, Gai, and the boy whom Naruto went off with. The three were standing between another boy, in a hospital bed, and a strange redheaded suna-nin with a gourd on his back.

It took Mito only a moment to realize what the boy was. The girl glared at the boy in question.

Gaara turned to leave the room **(1)**, "One day, I will kill him and he will prove my existence, along with anyone else who gets in my way." He barely spared Mito a glance as he walked by her.

Naruto and Mito didn't talk about him, not until the duo returned to the Senju compound. When they finally returned to the estate, Naruto was the first to speak, "That guy was like me."

"He was." Another human sacrifice that she was, however indirectly, responsible for.

The blond rubbed his head and cursed. "That guy has a brother and a sister."

"Oh?"

Naruto nodded, "Yea they're apart of his team." Mito found that interesting. Perhaps they were there, as a constant reminder to keep him loyal. Or maybe they were just the only ones willing to work with him. "Always wanted to have a brother or sister. I don't know I just figured things would be easier with siblings."

"I wish things were so black and white." She'd seen first hand that family didn't always mean everything…not even siblings. "Would you like to talk?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I just wanna go back to training." Mito nodded and silently watched him leave.

**~15 days before the finals~**

After another meeting with Hiruzen, they had been discussing some arrays within certain restricted areas that Mito had literally been blindfolded before she was allowed access to, Mito returned back to the Senju Compound. She found her charge quickly enough, punching one of the training dummies that lined the back of the estate. He then hit the dummy with a roundhouse kick.

CRACK!

Mito's eyes widened when the boy's leg broke through the dummy. The boy jerked his leg out of the dummy and cursed.

"That is impressive."

Surprised at the voice, the blond turned to look at the redheaded Uzumaki. "Oh, hey Mito-sensei." He briefly glanced back at the dummy before turned back to her with a nervous grin. "Sorry, I guess I should stop training on these old dummies."

The girl shook her head. "Believe me, anything and everything within this estate, that is made of wood, is NOT something that is easily broken. You have become strong."

All nervousness evaporated from Naruto's smile, "You think?"

Mito nodded. "I have only known a few people who could break one of those" 'without the use of chakra' she silently thought to herself, "and they have all been much older and experienced than you are."

"That's great!"

"Hmmm, you still need to refine your style…and work on your speed. If you cannot hit your target, then it wouldn't matter if you were a hundred times stronger than you are now."

Naruto frowned, "Can I spar with you again?" Despite all of their sparring sessions, Naruto had yet to lay a finger on the girl in front of him. He definitely understood that he needed to get a lot faster.

"How are you feeling?"

"Actually…you know I feel a lot better." Again, Naruto grinned at the girl. "Still hurts a bit, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before. I think I'm getting used to it."

Mito nodded, pleased that he was starting to grow accustomed to having the stuck **Kaimon** opened, "The fighting style of the Hyuuga, the Jyuuken, is about precision and speed. Strength is meaningless to a practitioner of Jyuuken. So from this day forward, you will practice fighting against a fast opponent."

Naruto cocked and eyebrow. "Who?" He had gotten used to fighting her, and _she_ was fast. He had yet to land a hit on her.

"Tell me Naru-kun, do you know of the **Kuchiyose no jutsu**."

Naruto closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Iruka-sensei mentioned it at the Academy."

He paused for several moments. Mito nodded her head, "Yes, please go on."

The boy shrugged, "That's all I got."

The girl sighed. "The **Kuchyose no jutsu** is a space and time technique that allows one to bring another entity from one location to the user's location. It is commonly used to summon creature's with whom the summoner has formed a contract with, however it is possible to summon humans as well."

"It is possible to summon other people?"

"They have to be wearing a specialized sealing tag and it can only be done at short range, but yes, it is possible. The Hokage himself employs such methods to quickly call marked ninja, normally members of his ANBU. However whenever you hear that someone is about to perform a summoning technique, they are likely about to summon an animal they posses a contract with." Mito drew blood and went through a series of hand seals. "**Kuchiyose no jutsu!**" A puff of smoke exploded in front of Mito. When it cleared, a small white rabbit was standing in front of her. The rabbit in question was, comically enough, wearing a strip of black cloth around his eyes. Two eyeholes in the cloth let the rabbit see through it. "As you can see, I have a contract with a clan of rabbits. The one in front of you is named Haruyuki and he will be your sparring opponent."

An eye twitched, before he turned his head towards the girl, "You want me to fight this little thing! He's tiny. He looks like he'll fall apart if I just touch him!"

The time Naruto's eye twitched. "Hey screw you bunny, what the hell can you do!"

Haruyuki growled at the boy, "You wanna go brat!"

"Let's go right now!"

Mito sighed as she watched the duo argue back and forth. After getting fed up, she held up a single hand, "You both can settle it in a taijutsu spar. You will start in three…two…one…FIGHT!"

The results of the following battle were something that Naruto would never admit to, even under the threat of torture. Though Naruto had gained some speed from the release of the **Kaimon**, the blond was still too slow compared to Haruyuki. The rabbit hopped circles around him, hitting him with light kicks that threw the boy off balance. It ended when Haruyuki landed a kick to the boy's forehead, dropping the blond the ground. The white rabbit landed on the boy's stomach, cackling like mad.

Mito, expecting such results, kneeled down next to the boy. "Haruyuki the fastest member of his clan, and is likely faster than any of the opponents you will face in the exam. If you can learn to match his speed, then you should have little difficulty keeping up with any of your opponents."

Naruto got up, but not before sending a withering stare at the rabbit. Haruyuki countered with a rude gesture.

"Perhaps you should practice catching him whilst running around the compound."

The rabbit turned to his summoner in growing annoyance, "You want him to catch me! Oh come on, that is so demeaning!"

The blond pulled out a kunai, "Can I at least slow him down?"

Mito sighed at the ensuing argument.

**~14 days before the finals~**

After yet another day of discussing sealing arrays with Hiruzen, Mito returned back to the Senju compound. After taking a quick look around the compound, she found Naruto in the same spot she found him in the day before.

However, instead of punching the targets, the boy was back to throwing kunai. Very poorly too…the boy groaned in annoyance. Not unlike his Taijutsu, Naruto would later point out that he had the same sensei for both; his stance when throwing projectiles was off. It had been another thing that Mito had been helping the boy correct for some time now. Naruto held up another kunai at eye level, carefully eyeing the target in front of him before throwing it. The knife stabbed the wooden dummy in the shoulder.

"Better", the girl stated, startling the boy out of his concentration. "However, you are still holding the blade the wrong way." The girl got behind him and grabbed his arm. "Place your hand like this and-" She began tapping the boy's left leg, earning a slight blush from him "-keep your legs separated just like that. Now aim and release." Naruto nodded and took a few moments to stare directly at the target. He threw the blade and scored a hit a few inches from the target's 'heart'. "Excellent."

Naruto nodded, though he was still scowling at the target. "I prefer fuuma shurikan."

Redhead frowned, "Given your love of explosive notes, I ask that you improve with kunai. Placing an explosion seal on a fuuma shurikan is problematic."

The blond thought that was a shame…because the idea of putting an exploding note on a really big shurikan put a smile on his face. "Why?"

"Triggering explosions on large pieces of metal can cause shrapnel to fly in indiscriminate directions. While it can be useful, there is also a chance that one of these pieces of metal will fly towards you. It is not a problem with smaller projectiles, which is why explosive notes are generally placed on kunai." Mito pulled out a kunai. She tossed the kunai, obviously off target. She then went through three hand seals, "**Soshujin no jutus (Manipulating Attack Blades technique)**." Before Naruto's eyes, the kunai clearly turned and stabbed itself into the dummy's 'heart'. "There are always ways around weaknesses."

Naruto turned to the girl, "How'd you do that?"

"It is a simply a low-ranked ninjutsu, which allows you some control over a projectile that you have infused with you chakra. It does not give you absolute control over a projectile, as the name may imply, however you will gain the ability to turn it while it is in the air. However when your projectiles loses all velocity, any control you have over the blade will be useless."

"Can you show me?"

The girl smiled. "You have another 'test' today, if you managed to pass it then I will teach it to you as your reward."

Naruto nodded. "The **Henge no jutsu** test, right? What do I have to do?"

"You simply must hold the technique whilst undergoing your usual training regiment. I believe an hour should suffice. Perhaps you should take the form of your sensei."

"Kaka-sensei?"

Mito nodded, "Taking the form of someone with a significantly different height and build than your own, is more difficult. His form should suffice."

"Alright." He actually remembered Iruka saying that during one of his lessons. Naruto did a quick hand seal, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. A moment later, Kakashi was standing in Naruto's place. 'Kakashi' looked at the redhead in front of him and was surprised by the scowl on her face. "What?"

"I believe your form is wrong." She pulled out a small mirror, seemingly out of nowhere, and held it up for him.

'Kakashi' looked…wrecked. Like he hadn't slept in a solid week. His hitai-ate was covering the wrong eye, his right one. His one visible eyelid drooped. His clothes were, vest included, looked like it had been washed with a tub of bleach. And his hair was green…Naruto didn't even know how he could have messed up the transformation so badly that he made his sensei's hair green, but there it was…green.

'Kakashi' grinned, "Whoops." Mito was clearly not amused. Naruto went through the handseals and tried again. A second puff of smoke erupted from Kakashi's position, but when it cleared this time, Naruto was transformed into a passable copy of the jounin. The 'copy-nin' looked at himself in the mirror and let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding.

Mito was still frowning as she put the mirror away. "The obstacle course."

'Kakashi' nodded and did as he was told. He climbed a rope, crawled under barbed wire, hopped between rocks, dived through a tunnel…and came out as Naruto on the other side.

The boy blinked and stared at his hands, noting the skin color difference and the sleeves of his orange jacket. As he was scanning his features, he felt an overwhelming aura coming form his left. He hesitantly, he turned his head to see his sensei staring at him. "Uh…whoops." The blond rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.

Mito could only say one thing, "You failed."

"Can I try again?"

"If you had been on a mission, you would not get another chance." The girl narrowed her eyes. "I warned you that there would be consequences for failing."

Naruto began to sweat. "What are they?"

Mito had never, officially, taken up students…though she had had a hand in training quite a few students over the years. _Most_ would speak positively of the results. Mito always carried certain expectations whenever she designed a training regiment. Most would consider Mito's expectations to be quite reasonable. However, if one of her trainees failed to meet those expectations, she was quick to imagine up a make-up exam. One that bordered on cruel and unusual.

**~x~**

One hour later, Naruto in the changing room of the women's side of the hot springs.

…

The boy in question was henged into a young black haired girl, which he made sure bore NO resemblance to the real him.

"_You want me to take a bath in the girl's side of the hot springs?"_

_Mito nodded, still giving him an intense look, "You told me that the pain has subsided. That means that your failure was caused, not by poor chakra control, but from lack of concentration. It will be a good lesson."_

"_But that doesn't explain why I gotta take that lesson at the hot springs."_

"_Incentive", Mito replied. "That day we met at the springs, I noted that there was a special for kunoichis on Fridays." Naruto's eyes widened. "I imagine quite a few of the village's female ninja population will be enjoying the baths today." Mito's eyes narrowed, "I can also imagine that they will be quite displeased if they found a boy attempting to hide amongst them."_

The boy…err girl…err the whatever groaned at the memory. Arguing with Mito had been useless. By the end she only had to ask if he would disobey her orders and he folded. The worse part was, she swore that she would abandon him to his fate if he were caught.

For his final argument he asked if she didn't consider, bringing him into the baths with a bunch of naked women, to be immoral.

_Mito nodded. "A fair point." Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "You will pretend to be blind and keep your eyes closed." Naruto slapped his forehead. "And if you even take a peek, I will dispel your transformation myself."_

Naruto shuddered at the memory. Currently, his female form was dressed in nothing but a towel. After a moment Mito, who was in a similar state of dressed came in to his view. While he left his short black hair alone, she had her long red hair tied up. The 'girl' blushed when she caught sight of his sensei. The towel did nothing to hide Mito's figure.

The Mito reached over and brushed her hand down Naruto's eyes, shutting them both. "Stay close", she then took the other 'girl's' hand and led her into the springs.

Naruto just concentrated on keeping his henge. The change in temperature told him when he got to the baths. The booming voices that assaulted his ears told him that there were quite a few women, probably kunoichi, enjoying the baths, as Mito had predicted. He let the girl slowly lead him into the warm waters. Mito settled down right next to him.

Luckily Mito wasn't trying to strike up a conversation with him and with his eyes closed, he really wasn't having a problem concentrating on his task. He just needed to last an hour and at the rate he was going, he didn't think he would have an issue. 'Not like it's any sexier in here than it is in the men's bath', the blond thought.

From his left, "Hey Chie-chan, could you rub some of this lotion on my back?"

'The Universe is a bitch and it hates me!' the boy wept silently.

"Of course Yukiko-chan, but you'll have to lose the towel."

'Screw you the Universe, I can ignore this. I can ignore this. I can ignore this.'

"Want me to do your front to?"

"Mmmmm, yes please, but your going to have to rub a lot harder than that."

'Really the Universe, really?' the boy, henged into a girl, nearly slapped his head. The idea that the pain might mess with his disguised was the only thing that stopped him. He tried to keep his mind busy and ignore the sounds, and moans, coming from his left side. Surprisingly, he managed to hear a vaguely familiar giggle coming from behind him.

He heard a splashing sound coming from his right, where Mito was sitting. It sounded like she had stood up. "Stay here for a moment. This will be brief."

Naruto didn't quite understand what she meant-

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-until that girlish shriek reminded him of the last time he met up with the old pervy frog guy. 'Excuse me, old pervy toad guy', he mentally corrected himself.

"PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT!" That was Mito's voice.

He heard many more splashes, as if many more women exited the baths. Though Naruto still had his eyes shut, he couldn't escape the feeling that all of those women were armed. Ignoring the sounds of the perverted idiot's impending doom, Naruto started chanting a different mantra. 'I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.'

Eventually his hour was up and Naruto and Mito slowly and carefully left the hot springs. **(2)**

**~7 days before the finals~**

Naruto preformed the **Bunshin no jutsu** perfectly…

Mito finally ended up teaching Naruto the Soshujin no jutsu.

…That is all.

**~5 days before the finals~**

Naruto had once asked Haruyuki why he wore a mask around his eyes. The rabbit had responded that he wanted to keep his identity/face a secret whilst out amongst humans. Naruto laughed his ass off at the response.

Haruyuki had once asked Naruto why he wore a bright orange outfit. The genin had responded that he thought orange was the coolest color ever and he wanted everyone around to notice him. Haruyuki laughed his ass off at the response.

The rabbit never understood humans. Even Mito-hime, who had been part of his clan for, roughly, a century was still a mystery for him. After the blonde's answer to the 'orange outfit question', Haruyuki _thought_ he understood Naruto: the boy was an idiot.

Haruyuki hopped from tree to tree, avoiding the newest _predator_ on his tail. It had been something of a daily ritual for the two, where Naruto would attempt to catch Haruyuki while the two jumped between the treetops. Recently Mito-hime had started adding traps that both Haruyuki and Naruto had to dodge during their run. The boy had yet to catch his target, but he was growing quicker and more agile. At this moment, Naruto was only a few branches away from the rabbit.

The fastest member of the Rabbit clan grinned and purposely slowed down. A moment later, Naruto was all but on him. "YEA RIGHT!" Haruyuki jumped high into the air, adding a small flip for flair, and began hopping from tree trunk to tree trunk. "Eat it blondie!"

"I'm gonna get you, you dumb bunny!"

Haruyuki stopped in mid-air, dropping down past Naruto, before continuing his run/hop under the branch line.

If Naruto truly wanted everyone to notice him, then he definitely succeeded. Haruyuki's eyes were immediately drawn to Naruto, even when he was standing next to his summoner. He suspected even the colorblind would be drawn to Naruto's outrageous outfit. It also made detecting the boy that much easier.

To Haruyuki's surprise, Naruto jumped down and began hopping between the trees himself. Again the rabbit slowed down to give the boy an opportunity to catch up. Naruto took the opening to pounce at the bunny. Haruyuki jumped high into the air, barely managing to avoid the blond, before landing on a branch and continuing his run/hop. "You'll have to try better than th-"

A glint of light, which he immediately recognized as a reflection from metal, attacked his eyes. His summoner had apparently laid a trap to fire a barrage of kunai. He prepared to leap out of the way when an orange clad figure jumped in front of him. Haruyuki's eyes widened when he saw Naruto block the barrage with a kunai of his own, keeping the rabbit safe from harm.

When he finished, the blond turned his head to give him a grin. There was a hint of concern in the boy's eyes.

The bunny blinked. He briefly turned to the position that Mito was at and saw that she was as awestruck as he was. The boy…should NOT have been able to get in front of him so quickly. Ten days of training with the boy proved that much. It defied logic.

It also stung his pride. Haruyuki scowled, "Idiot, I could've easily avoided that!"

Naruto's smile widened. "Sorry." His expression indicated that he was anything but. The boy then turned and then went to examine the trap that Mito had set. The girl went to join him a moment later.

The rabbit just continued watching the boy for several long moments before he reached an epiphany regarding the blond. Really it was just something of a hypothesis. Naruto HAD donned his orange outfit to get everybody's attention. Everybody…including possible enemies. The boy purposely walked around with a proverbial target on him **(3)**. For what…perhaps to draw attention away from the people around him?

The rabbit shook his head. Interesting.

He wondered if his teammates appreciated the gesture.

**~x~**

"You created a seal that fires kunais?"

Mito, whom had been about to comment on Naruto's surprising speed, shook her head. "It is an altered Weapon Sealing array. I sealed kunais into the array and set it to launch the kunais the moment someone stepped within range of the array."

Naruto turned back to the array. "Can you show me what part makes it launch kunai?"

The redhead crouched down next to Naruto and began tracing different symbols. "This character you will recognize in a weapon seal. If you attach it to this character you can launch what is held within the seal." She traced down to the bottom of the array. "Adding this part down here is part of the trap process I mentioned before." She traced an imaginary character between two others. "If you were to add this character and erase this one, you could seal an offensive elemental ninjutsu and fire it as a trap."

The boy squinted his eyes and crossed his arms for a moment. "Can I use the forge?"

The Forge wasn't a typical blacksmith's forge. It was actually the nickname, which Naruto had given, to a room where Mito tended to keep a large armory of weaponry and a wide range of Fuin jutsu reagents. Naruto had used the room before, mainly to create some explosive tags…the only thing the boy had bothered to create thus far.

"You may", she said with a nod. "Tell me, what are you planning to craft?"

"I don't wanna say yet, can you give me a bit?"

Though her curiosity was peaked, she decided to respect the boy's wishes. As she watched the boy leave, Haruyuki walked up beside her. "So…am I done?"

"So it would seem." She knelt down to rub his head. "Please give my best to Kuroyukihime."

After the rabbit disappeared, she walked back inside the house. Hiruzen had another security seal that he had wanted her to look at and she figured she now had the free time to do so. Besides, keeping her mind busy would be a good way to keep herself from wondering what Naruto was working on.

She ended up sitting inside what had become her study over the last few weeks. Which is when she started sensing Naruto's chakra. Mito wasn't a sensor-type. The only way she _should_ have been able to sense what Naruto was doing was either if he was using a jutsu right next to (which he wasn't) or he was using a humongous amount of chakra. That didn't help her curiosity at all.

While she was busy contemplating whether the seals on the compound's walls could hide Naruto's chakra output from the rest of the village, the boy in question entered the room she was studying in. "Naru-kun. How did your…new idea go?"

Naruto answered with a grin. The girl in question frowned at the boy's 'answer'. I don't wanna say just yet." Mito opened to her mouth say something, but stopped when she felt another spike of charka coming from 'the Forge'. "If you don't mind, I wanna keep it a surprise for the finals. Since I'm pretty sure no one has done it before, I also wanna be the one to name it." Naruto ran his hand through his hair, "Something really bad ass, and with the name Uzumaki in it."

Mito frowned at the boy's answer, but eventually nodded. "If you wish to keep it a secret, I will not press you to tell me. However" She turned towards the direction she felt the chakra coming from. "-may I ask what is happening in that room?"

Naruto continued grinning. "I got some boys working on something."

The red head narrowed her eyes, "Shadow Clones?"

The blond nodded before turning around. "I'm gonna go train some more."

Mito frowned and tried to concentrate on the notes she had been going through. Though she was serious when she said she would respect the boy's request, she knew she would have trouble concentrating until he revealed his secret. In the end, the redhead could only sigh.

**~2 days before the finals~**

Mito woke up at the crack of dawn like she did every morning. She went through her quick routine, which ended with her getting dressed in her usual training outfit. She walked out of her room and went to wake Naruto up. To her shock, Naruto was not in his room. She took a quick walk around the house. When she walked by the kitchen, she noticed some already washed dishes sitting in the drying rack next to the sink.

Today marked the first day, since they first started their training, that Naruto had gotten up earlier than she had. The redhead turned to walk to the front door. She half expected to find Naruto training with a clone, like she sometimes found him. She opened and walked through the doorway, but didn't see the blond. She took a few steps outside to look for the boy…

She heard a strange whistling sound she had come to associate with metal cutting through the air. The girl tensed up and turned her head to see an object flying through the air. Though she had calculated the trajectory, she still flinched when a kunai, with an orange tassle, embedded itself into the ground right next to her.

Mito smiled and looked up to the top of the sequoia to find Naruto lounging on one of the branches near the top. Though she doubted he would hear her, the girl made a show of clapping her hands.

Up in the tree, Naruto cupped his hand next to his mouth and called down. "MORE WEIGHT!" **(4)** He wasn't sure if she heard him…and he silently hoped that she didn't take him seriously if she had. However, Naruto leaned back against the tree and sighed. 'Neji-teme is going down!'

**~x~**

Faraway, Jiraiya was lounging around…still bored.

**~End~**

* * *

**Omake: Assholes with Summoning jutsu!**

_**A/N: **Created after watching too much Robot Chicken…which I don't own._

The four members of team 7 were having a minor training exercise in the forest. It was essentially the bell test all over again. Naruto, though slightly embarrassed by his postured, was bent over a log…waiting.

Predictably, Kakashi appeared right behind him, holding the tora seal. **"Sennen Goroshi!"**

"**Kuchiyose no jutsu!**"

Before Kakashi's attack could connect, Sasuke appeared right behind him and took the hit…sending the Uchiha flying. Both Naruto and Kakashi watched on in amusement. Naruto then turned towards the metaphorical screen and did his best _Nice Guy Pose_.

**Assholes with Summoning jutsu!**

Naruto just happened to be walking by the Hokage's office when he spotted Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune. All three of them had their backs turned to him. Naruto walked up to the tree. Naruto licked the palm of his right hand and then smacked blond woman across the ass as hard as he could.

The resounding smack immediately got the attention of the woman's two companions. They both turned to look at the boy in growing horror. Naruto just gave them a cheeky grin.

Tsunade, ki flaring, slowly turned towards Naruto, a look of murder in her eyes. Jiraiya would have flashed the boy a thumbs up, but was far too nervous to do so. Shizune silently prayed that the boy's death was swift and painless…though she had to admit that it was _probably_ well deserved.

The legendary medic-nin cocked her fist back and aimed a chakra-enhanced fist at the boy's head.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

Just then, Sasuke appeared between him and Tsunade. Everyone in the room watched as Tsunade's fist made contact with the boy, sending the Uchiha flying through a wall. Naruto then turned towards the metaphorical screen and did his best _Nice Guy Pose_.

**Assholes with Summoning jutsu!**

Naruto, transformed as a girl again, was sitting in the lady's side of the Konoha hot springs. It was Kunoichi Night again. It seemed that he was sharing the baths with at least five dozen kunoichi.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

Just then Sasuke appeared in the middle of the hot springs…and he immediately had about sixty pair of eyes narrow in on him. "PERVERT!"

While Sasuke got jumped by several ARMED woman, girl-Naruto turned towards the metaphorical screen and did his/her best _Nice Guy/Girl Pose_.

**Assholes with Summoning jutsu!**

Naruto just happened to be walking by the road when he spotted a crying Sakura! "Hey Sakura, what's up?"

The girl turned towards Naruto with tear-stained eyes, "Sasuke-kun abandoned the village!"

The blond shrugged and did a few hand seals, "**Kuchiyose no jutsu!**"

In a puff of smoke, Sasuke appeared in front of the two. The Uchiha glared at the boy…whom he abandoned Konoha to get away from. "OH COME ON!"

"**Kuchiyose no jutsu!**" Suddenly Shikamaru appeared next to Naruto, looking dazed.

Sasuke was still glaring at Naruto. "Hey rule of three asshole!"

Naruto grabbed Shikamaru by the arm, threw him over his shoulder, and slammed him onto the Uchiha. Naruto then turned towards the metaphorical screen and did his best _Nice Guy Pose_.

**NINJAS with Summoning jutsu!**

**~End~**

* * *

**(1)** How does Gaara actually get away with this? If there really wasn't anyone (ANBU) guarding the hospital, you would think Gai would have reported him. Either an oversight by Kishimoto or a serious amount of diplomatic immunity for the Kazekage's son.

**(2)** You guys looked like you were getting bored, so I added that scene.

**(3) **A bit of alternate character interpretation based on, essentially, nothing. In it, Naruto is smart enough to realize wearing orange is a BAD idea. However he decided to make that his main outfit, not because he wants to stand out in Konoha, but because he wants to stand out on the field and keep eyes off of his teammates. Also, the reason he walked into Haku's mirrors, to take some of the pressure off of Sasuke (obviously backfired big time, but at least all the attention wasn't on Sasuke). Anyway, again, I'm basing all of that on nothing whatsoever.

**(4)** If you get the reference then good for you…it means that at some point in your life, you read some old school literature…or watched the movie.

**A/N: If my Japanese is right, then the taijutsu style I mentioned in the last chapter should translate to Blue Dragon fist (Aoiryuuken), that was the style that emphasized placing seals with an opened palm. The one I mentioned today, Kurokameken, should translate to Black Turtle first. Anyone get the theme yet?**

**The Kaimon training method (learning how to keep the limiter open) is something I picked up from watching Dragon Ball Z (which I don't own) back in the day. During the Cell Games, Goku and Gohan learned to stay in Super Saiyan mode, permanently. I figured, why couldn't someone (namely Naruto or Rock Lee) train to permanently keep one or more of the gates open. A bad guy does it (with ALL eight gates) in one of the movies, but it involved some kind of freaky ritual. This one just involved a painful regiment.**


	4. Overwhelming Force

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: A little later than I intended to release it, but there you go.**

**Okay, first off somebody pointed out a mistake in the last chapter. I ninjutsu (the very first one) that I had intended Naruto to learn was the _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone technique)_. That is a technique that creates shadow clones of a single shuriken. The technique I mentioned last chapter was the _Kage Shuriken no jutsu (Shadow Shuriken technique)_, which is the move Naruto and Sasuke used again Zabuza in the Wave arc to hide a fuuma shuriken in the shadow of another. I haven't gotten around to fixing the mistake yet, though I do intend to do so. Again the technique Naruto learned is the _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu._**

**They also pointed out that Rock Lee doesn't actually have some sort of disease that prevents him from molding chakra (I actually assumed he could only do things like three climbing and water walking, but could NOT do things like elemental ninjutsu or genjutsu). Is that right? Is the whole, Lee has a birth defect fanon? If that's true…it's kinda funny.**

**Thanks and let's get on with the show.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Overwhelming Force**

**~1 day before the final~**

"…so by the end of Hiru-chan's little experiment, he and his two teammates were bald, naked and covered in honey", Mito and Naruto were both laughing by the end of the story.

Naruto snickered, "All that, because the old man wanted to learn how to use a sword?"

"Hiru-chan has refused to pick up a katana since that day."

The blond snorted, 'Greatest. Story. Ever.' He would definitely remember that one.

Dusk approached on the last day before the Finals of the Chunin Exams. Though Naruto had done some training earlier, on Mito's insistence he decided to take it easy. Mito called him inside hours before sunset, stating that he would get more out of resting for the remainder of the day.

He then washed up and joined Mito for dinner. They had ordered out, quite a large meal at that.

Naruto took another bite of the ramen. Though it didn't hold a candle to Ichiraku's, he had yet to find a place that did, he still found it quite good, "Never knew the old man had a wild side when he was a kid."

"Oh, you would be quite surprised how often respectable figures had a 'wild side' in their youth." She raised her cup of tea to hide her growing smile. "You wish to become the Hokage in the future, do you not." Though he nodded, Mito didn't wait for a response, "I am sure that some child in the future would be surprised to learn that you painted grafitti over the Hokage's monument when you were just twelve years old." She then sipped her tea.

Naruto blushed at the comment, and rubbed the back of his head. "Yea…I guess…"

Mito placed her cup down, "You know, you actually remind me of someone I knew when I was just a little girl."

"Do I?"

Mito got a distant look on her features, "He was a dear friend of mine growing up. He was…very excitable."

Naruto looked up, "Now that I think about it, you've never really talked about your family."

Mito gave Naruto a blank look, "My childhood was not very exciting. My father was the leader of the Uzumaki clan. My mother died when I was young, so I did not know her too well. I had an older brother, who ended up succeeding my father as the clan leader. My childhood was spent learning the shinobi arts."

Naruto grinned, "You wanted to be a ninja?"

Mito shook her head, "Not at all. What I truly wanted was to become skilled enough to defend both my home and myself, if the need arose. I had no desire to journey out of my village, to sell my skills." Mito momentarily looked away from him, "After my training was complete, my father placed me in the Village's Defense Corps. Afterwards, I spent my time studying Fuinjutsu."

"Did Uzushio have it's own Academy?"

Again, Mito shook her head, "No. Each prospective shinobi was trained by a relative. However, my father did design and fund certain exercises that shinobi hopefuls could take part in." She stared at him for a moment, "It was at one of those exercises that I met that friend I mentioned before. They divided all of the children up into two teams. One side protected a 'VIP', while the other side tried to defeat or capture her."

Naruto caught her choice of words. "You?"

"Indeed." Mito nodded. "I was the one chosen to play the VIP. Kurohoshi, that was my friend's name, was on the other side. My group was forced to stay in the open, while Kurohoshi's team were advised to stick to the shadows" Mito smiled and tried to suppress her laughter. "Instead, Kurohosi climbed to the highest building in the area, yelled out his name and declared that he would defeat me." That time, Mito did giggle as the memory played in her head. Her guards, the other students, were on him in moments…however she had been so awestruck by his bravado that she elected to fight him herself. The match had been painfully, for Kurohoshi, short.

Naruto thought back to Kakashi's Bell Test. "Yea…that sounds like something I would do."

Mito's silent giggle turned into loud laughter, Naruto soon joined in as well.

It took her a while, but Mito finally managed to regain control of her laughter, "I believe we are supposed to be talking strategy." Her comment sobered him up. "Your first opponent is the Hyuuga. That clan trains to excel at close quarters combat. Your best chance would be to keep him at a distance."

Naruto shrugged as he downed another rice ball. "I'm not worried, I know how to deal with him."

Mito frowned. Success was the line between pride and arrogance; she wasn't quite sure which side Naruto would fall under. "May I ask?"

Naruto grinned, "It's a secret."

"Your mystery weapon then?"

The boy's grin widened.

Mito sighed, "Though not your immediate concern, I do believe that this Sabaku no Gaara is going to be your most dangerous opponent."

Naruto sighed at the thought of Gaara, "Yea…he has this sand defense thing that blocks every attack that tries to hit him. Fuzzy brows could barely touch him." He then flashed her a foxy grin, "I'm thinking of hitting him with two hundred and eight exploding kunai…kinda wanna see if he can block that."

Mito shuddered at the number. She wasn't entirely comfortable with Naruto, or really ANYONE, carrying around that kind of arsenal. "There are methods to defeat a Jinchuuriki using Fuinjutsu, however the techniques are far too advance for you to learn yet."

The blond shrugged, "No big deal. I'm just psyche that I got the chance to show everyone that the Uzumaki clan is still badass!"

The redhead's eyes widened at the comment. She smiled after a moment though. Naruto, I could not help but notice that your outfit is in tatters…"

**~x~**

Naruto walked back into the room in a completely different outfit. His orange jacket was replaced with a red, sleeveless, high-collared jacket. His orange pants and blue shinobi sandals were replaced with black-colored ones. He also wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves. A spiral design was on the back of his jacket and gloves, black on the jacket and red on the gloves. His hitai-ate was still wrapped around his forehead. **(1)**

Mito examined the boy closely. "When we first moved in here, I happened to find one of our clan's old uniforms in storage. I gave it to a tailor and asked him to alter it to your size."

Naruto was still looking himself over. "So this is one of our clan's uniforms?"

Mito pursed her lips, "Not exactly. The tailor took an artistic liberty and turned it into what you are wearing now. Just as well I suppose, I do not believe Uzushio's heavy armor would have been much use to you. Certainly not against your first opponent and unlikely against the others." She caught Naruto's eyes. "Tell me, how do you like it?"

"Looks cool and it's super light too. But…" Naruto blushed. "It's not orange."

Mito bit back a snort. In a gentle tone, "Forgive me, but I did not take your favorite color in mind when I commissioned that outfit." She got a distant look in her eyes, "Red and black are…_were_ common colors of our village's shinobi force." She gestured towards herself. Mito was wearing a black top with a plaid red and black skirt; the same outfit Naruto had seen her wear when he first met her. "My own attire reflects that tradition, call it a sense of nationalism, if you will."

Naruto grew nervous. "Didn't the First Hokage wear a red and black outfit?"

Mito frowned, "Though his clan used similar armor, _his_ was actually a gift from our clan, for our engagement. I specifically asked for those specifics color. His brother's armor was also a gift from us, though I asked for Tobirama's to be blue."

"Oh, is blue your favorite color something?"

"No, quite the opposite actually."

Naruto resisted the urge to laugh. Mito hadn't hidden her dislike of Tobirama…not by a long shot.

The redhead gave him a slight nod. "Tomorrow, you will be judged on many factors, not just on your combat skills. Going into a battle with ripped clothing will not look well on you. Simply wearing that clothing will give you a better chance at being promoted, so please bare with it."

Naruto's eyes widened and his face paled. "No…I mean, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, because I really do like it. I was just mentioning it…I didn't realize that red and black were clan colors."

"_Common_ colors", Mito corrected. "Unless you were part of our leader's personal guard, our clan did not actually have a dress code. I thought you could make use of it. I am, in no way, prohibiting you from wearing orange if you wish to do so."

The blond shrugged, "Honestly I kinda like it though. Makes me feel like an actual member of the Uzumaki clan…" Mito smiled at the comment. "That probably sounds stupid, since you're the only person of our clan that I've ever met…"

"It does not sound stupid at all."

Naruto let out a deep breath. He then clenched his fists and smiled at the girl, "Yea, I'm so going to kick ass tomorrow. I'll make our clan proud."

Mito giggled, "I am sure that you will. Perhaps I should offer you a reward for…defeating every opponent you are put up against?" Naruto blushed. "Perhaps I can offer you another ninjutsu or perhaps lessons elemental nature manipulation or maybe something more material-"

"How about a date?" Naruto quickly interrupted. Mito's eyes widened. "If I win the tournament, then how about we go out on a date?"

Mito's cheeks reddened. That had been a surprise. Not an unwelcome surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. She thought it over for a few moments. That would be crossing a line…one that wouldn't exist if Naruto weren't still in need of training. There was also the obvious age difference: Naruto was thirteen while she was, chronologically, well over a hundred. Mito pursed her lips…that'd actually be a problem for _anyone_ she could choose to be with. And, since she was biologically close to Naruto's age, it was likely that he would be the only other person able to match her lifespan. Then again, he was _Kushina's_ son.

Naruto for his part was pale. He wondered if he crossed some line that he probably should NOT have. He knew she had been married before, to the freaking Shodaime Hokage of all people. 'But that was like another life ago.' He wondered if she was even interested in being with anyone.

"Very well" Mito began, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. "If you defeat all of your opponents, then I will allow you to court me."

Naruto grinned back at her. 'I am SO going to kick everybody's ass!'

Since they were expecting an early morning, neither of them stayed up too much longer.

**~Day of the Finals~**

The next day, Naruto woke up early, ate a small breakfast and left on his own to go to the arena. He was ushered into a room that contained most of the other contestants. Gaara was standing in the corner. Gaara's siblings/teammates, Temari and Kankuro, were standing a few feet a way from their younger brother. Neji sat in the opposite corner, apparently trying to meditate. Shino leaned against a wall, alternating between staring at Neji, the guy who brutalized his teammate, to staring at Kankuro, his opponent. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Dosu were missing.

Naruto opted to sit not too far from Shino, which placed him closer to Neji than Gaara. When the finals started, they would apparently all walk out into the center of the arena to hear the rules…Naruto just thought they wanted to put them all on display for everyone to see.

Either way, Naruto had more important thoughts to worry about…like where he could take a girl out on a date. Ichraku's just seemed too…cheap…and common. He hadn't gone to too many restaurants in his youth, since Ichiraku's was both cheap and delicious, he didn't feel the need to. He didn't know how many of them would take issue with him being within their establishment. 'Maybe I could make a picnic…do girls like picnics?' He knew how to cook. Teuchi, Ayame, Iruka and even Hiruzen, had taught him how to over the years. The main problem was, where could they go? The nicest place he knew of was the Senju grounds…but that just seemed a bit lazy…

While deep in thought, Naruto didn't notice Shikamaru enter the waiting room. The shinobi of the Nara clan took one look around the room and immediately went to go sit between Naruto and Shino. The boy took one glance at Naruto before resting his head against the wall and shutting his eyes. "Thinking about your fight?"

Naruto shook his head, not at all surprised when Shikamaru broke him out of his thoughts. "Nah, I'm gonna to win no problem." He said loud enough for Neji to hear him. The Hyuuga gave the blond a hard stare, before continuing his meditation. Naruto glanced at the boy next to him. In a much quieter voice, "Hey, do you know a good place to take a girl to?"

Shikamaru's cocked an eyebrow and shrugged at the question. "Why would I know that?"

Naruto shrugged, "Where do you take Ino?"

Shikamaru's cheeks heated up, "What the hell makes you think I would date such a _troublesome_ girl!"

"Oh…I just figured…"

"Well you figured _wrong_!" Shikamaru barked.

Naruto held up his arms, defensively, "Alright, alright geez." After giving the boy one last glare, Shikamaru turned away and went back to trying to nap. "Think you could ask that Suna girl for me?"

Again, Shikamaru's head snapped towards Naruto. "Why would I do that?"

The blond shrugged, "I figured another girl would know, and you have a match with her so…"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "Yes Naruto, sometime between her trying to bludgeon me with that giant fan and shooting blasts of wind at me…I'll try and ask her where she likes to go on dates. And maybe while she's busy trying to stab me I'll gently stroke her hair while I'm at it. Oh, and if she decides to launch me in the air, like that Tenten girl, and catch me on her fan, I'll go ahead and tell her how beautiful she is. That all sound good to you, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked a few times and stared at the boy in front of him for several moments. "Ummm…go ahead if you want…but I really just need you to ask her about the date thing."

Shikamaru sighed. 'Why does Naruto have to be SO troublesome?'

**~x~**

Gambling was a well-integrated part of the Chunin Exams. For the last five decades a merchant family that spanned the Elemental Nations, the Masaki Clan, headed all gambling done during the exams.

Though each country's Chunin Exams varied, they ALWAYS ended in a one on one tournament-styled free for all. That is where the Masaki clan came in. They researched each of the contestants thoroughly. The contestant's village usually provided them with any, non-classified, information on the contestants in question. They then took each of the well-researched dossiers and ranked each of the contestants accordingly. For example…

Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha genin. Age, 13. Sensei: Hatake Kakashi. Academy dobe of his class. Genjutus ability: non-existent. Taijutsu style: None/street-fighter? Chakra capacity: large. Elemental affinity: unknown, numerous sources presume fire. Notable skills: **Kage Bunshin no jutsu**. Notable traits: impulsive, loyal, creative, emotional. Special notes: Wears a bright orange outfit. Chunin exam notes: Won his preliminary match with a lucky…_fart_.

Compared to…

Hyuuga Neji. Konoha Genin. Age, 14. Sensei: Maito Gai. Academy rookie of the year of his class. Genjutsu ability: unknown, presumed immunity. Taijutsu style: **Jyuuken**. Chakra capacity: large. Elemental affinity: reportedly, Earth. Bloodlimit: **Byakkugan**. Notable skills: **Jyuuken**. Notable traits: arrogant, ruthless, intelligent. Special notes: hailed as a prodigy in his own clan. Chunin exam notes: won his preliminary match with overwhelming force.

Odds? 50-to-1 in Hyuuga Neji's favor.

The Masaki clan also screens who was _allowed_ to gamble during the exams.

For example, Maito Gai was allowed to freely place bets, as long as he ONLY placed them on his own student, Hyuuga Neji. Likewise, Hatake Kakashi was allowed to place bets, as long as he placed them on either of his two students. However, if both of Hatake's students were to meet in a battle, then Hatake was completely prohibited from betting. This was to prevent him from _'asking'_ one of his students to throw a fight, in order to win an easy bet. That was also the reason that senseis were ONLY allowed to place bets on their own students.

One Masaki Noburo sat at his desk after taking yet another bet for the upcoming exam. "Next please." Noburo looked up to the next person to approach the desk he'd been provided. The man in front of him provided him with his ID.

"I'd like to place a bet on Uzumaki Naruto."

Noburo looked at the man's ID very carefully. Umino Iruka. The man was, reportedly, an instructor of four of the genin within the exam: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino, and Nara Shikamaru. A very popular instructor, according to word of mouth. Normally something like that _should_ have prohibited the man from placing any bets…however reports indicate that he lost touch with _most_ of his students. Reportedly, the only student that he maintained contact with, and by extension still had any pull with, was the very student he wanted to bet on.

Noburo nodded. "How much are you wanting to place on him?"

"Six thousand ryo on Naruto, all the way."

Noburo nodded. Though it wasn't all that much money, and it was placed on the underdog of such a one-sided fight, it could prove fruitful if the boy managed a lucky win. Besides, there weren't nearly enough people betting on Uzumaki. "Your bet is accepted." Noburo jotted a few things down on a notebook and handed Iruka a slip of paper, "And there is your receipt. Good luck to you sir."

Iruka nodded and left. The man went through the seating and quickly caught sight of Naruto's new sensei. He also noted the empty seat right next to her. As he started walking down the aisle to reach her, she took notice of him and flashed him a small smile. "Hey, mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course not", she gestured towards the chair next to her, "Please have a seat."

Iruka sat down and looked down towards the arena.

As he did so, she happened to note the receipt in his hand. The girl's features sobered up and she turned away from him, "Are you a regular gambler, Umino-san?" she asked in a neutral voice.

Not noting the edge in the girl's voice, Iruka just shrugged. "Not really a hobby or anything like that. But hey, I know Naruto's going to win for sure, so it isn't really _gambling_, right?"

Mito turned to look at the man, shock evident on her features. After a while a smile spread on her face and she shook her head. "I suppose not."

**~x~**

Down in the arena, the battle between Naruto and Neji started with the typical banter that audience had come to expect from Chunin Exams Finals. It ended with Neji telling the story of his father's death.

By the end of it, Naruto and Neji continued facing off, both glaring daggers at the other. "I'll say it once more, give up. You are fated to lose this battle."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "That move was lame when you tried it on your cousin and it's lame now. Oh and for the record-" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Neji, "-when I shove your head up your ass, it's because you suck and I'm awesome, not because I was fated to shove your head up your ass."

Neji scowled at the blond. "Since you won't listen to reason…**Byakugan**!" The Hyuuga activated his blood limit.

At the same time, Naruto pulled out a Fuma Shuriken from one of his pouches. He snapped it open, holding it by the ring, and held it out in front of him. The fuma shuriken had some strange black symbols painted on it. The blond smirked, "My prized creation, the **Uzumaki Shuriken**."

Neji nearly rolled his eyes. "A Fuma shuriken isn't something new, you idiot."

"You haven't seen a Fuma shuriken like this one", the blond laughed.

That time, Neji _did_ roll his eyes. "Either way, only an arrogant fool would name weapon after himself."

"Well I wanted to name it the _**Go Fuck Yourself**_** Shuriken**, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to curse in Japanese." Naruto looked down, "It really shouldn't be so hard to learn how to curse in Japanese." **(2)**

Again, Neji rolled his eyes and prepared his strategy. He knew from the Uzumaki's last battle that Naruto wasn't very fast and that he wasn't too strong. Neji's strategy was simple: avoid the shuriken and get into close range to knock out the younger boy with a gentle fist strike.

Naruto tossed the fuma shuriken, parallel to the ground. A moment later, he placed his hand in the ram seal, "**Kai!**" Before everyone's eyes four pure black, regular-sized shuriken appeared from the **Uzumaki Shuriken** and launched themselves in opposite directions. A quarter of a second later, a second set erupted from the **Uzumaki Shuriken**. And then a third set, and a fourth set, and a fifth set.

Neji's eyes widened as the one large shuriken started spewing out many small ones. He blocked one shuriken, and then a second, and finally just dropped down, allowing the blades to fly over his head.

**~x~**

Up in the stands, Mito stared wide-eyed at Naruto's creation. Everything he did was just so…simple. He took a Fuma Shuriken and sealed kami knows how many shadow shurikens into each of the four blades, she could tell they were nothing but shadow clone shurikens because they disappeared the moment they impacted with a hard surface. He then set the seals to release, and launch, each of the shurikens in rapid succession. And no doubt, if the fuma shuriken passed over Neji, Naruto would reveal…

**~x~**

Back in the arena, Neji watched as Naruto's special fuuma shuriken passed over his head. With his blood limit, Neji watched as the **Uzumaki Shuriken** continued flying, waiting until the damn thing crashed into the wall and stopped spinning. On the other side, he watched Naruto do a quick chain of hand seals and prepared to dodge a second attack.

"**Soshujin**."

Before Neji's eyes, Naruto's custom fuma shuriken turned away from the wall, and came flying back towards Neji. However, the angle of the blade twisted a few degrees so that it was no longer parallel to the ground. Again, Neji was forced to dodge the shadowy shurikens.

Naruto grinned as he 'remotely' twisted and turned his **Uzumaki Shuriken**, trying to continuously angle the weapon so that it continued firing shurikens in Neji's direction.

Neji continuously blocked and rolled away from each of the shurikens. Blocking was semi painful, however avoiding could potentially be dangerous. If he leapt to far, he ran the risk of landing in the path of another one of the shuriken. He considered using the **Kaiten**, but stopped himself. He didn't want to use his trump card unless he absolutely needed to.

Soon enough, Naruto's shuriken lost momentum and eventually landed helplessly on the ground, ten feet away from the Hyuuga, no longer firing shadow cloned shuriken. Neji was about to turn on the Uzumaki, for putting him in such a disgraceful position, when the **Uzumaki Shuriken** _exploded_. Though far away enough to avoid serious injury, the force of the blast knocked Neji off of his feet and accidentally forced him to release control of his **Byakugan**. Quickly composing himself, Neji jumped to his feet and reactivated his blood limit.

And then his heart skipped a beat.

Naruto stood in the same position he was before, a shit eating grin on his face. Except this time he was standing in line with nine, presumably, shadow clones. Each of them was holding an **Uzumaki Shuriken**.

Up in the stands, though concerned for her teammate, Tenten had a little tiny orgasm.

The proctor, one Shiranui Genma, took the opportunity to leave the arena.

Neji dashed towards the blond(s). His plan was simply to get in short range, like he _should_ have done earlier, of the Uzumaki so that it would be suicide for him to use those thrice-damned fuma shurikens. He would then use the **Kaiten** to hit the real boy and dispel the clones. And if the boy were stupid enough to use the blades at short range, then he would simply rely on the **Kaiten** to protect himself.

Instead of standing there or throwing one of the blades, one of the Narutos stabbed their **Uzumaki Shuriken** into the ground and lunged forward to intercept the Hyuuga.

Neji glared at the clone, he presumed it was a clone at least. He'd **Jyuken **the clone and continued with his original plan. And if it so happened to the _real_ Naruto, he'd finish the boy off in one strike.

When 'Naruto' and Neji were both in striking distance, they both shot out with an open palmed thrust. Both attacks, concurrently, connected. Unfortunately for the Hyuuga, he made the mistake of judging Naruto by the speed he showed in the Preliminaries.

Neji's **Jyuken** strike hit 'Naruto' in the heart, dispelling the clone. The clone's strike hit Neji in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the Hyuuga and sending him Hyuuga flying several meters backwards.

After Naruto created a clone to replace the one that was just dispelled and together the ten Narutos tossed the **Uzumaki Shurikens**.

The moment Neji got back to his feet, he was forced to block and evade the shadow-cloned shurikens. After missing one and getting cut on the forearm, Neji began spinning, "**Kaiten**!"

The sound of hundreds of shurikens crashing into Neji's barrier was deafening. The moment Neji began to lose momentum, he would kick off, trying to regain his spin. He held the **Kaiten** for as long as he could, knowing that he would be made into a pincushion if he stopped then.

By the end, he ran out of chakra around the same time that the blades lost momentum and fell harmlessly to the ground. Neji fell as well, cutting off the flow of chakra to his technique in order to avoid fainting via chakra exhaustion. He held himself up with his hands, not forgetting for a moment about the explosion that erupted from the last fuma shurikan…and he was surrounded by ten of them. Fear clenched his heart.

"STOP!" Genma called out, having returned to the arena after the **Uzumaki Shurikens** stopped spinning, staring sternly at Naruto. "The match is over, the victor is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The crowed cheered at that.

Meanwhile Naruto dispelled his clones and walked over to pick up his customed fuma shuriken. The explosion was mostly a means to protect them from being taken and copied, not so much as an extra attack, though it _did _serve that purpose. However, without it, he needed to pick them up asap and seal them away from prying eyes. 'At least I won't have to buy new ones.' Naruto glanced at the prone body of Hyuuga Neji. If his heavy breathing was anything to go by, the boy was close to chakra exhaustion. He turned back to pick up one of his shuriken, "Glad I thought up these things, they were useful."

Neji scoffed, "You also gave away your greatest weapon in the first battle and wasted all of them!"

The blonde grinned, "First off, these things are not my greatest weapons. I actually made them like…five days ago, or something. I used them on you so people wouldn't figure out what I've actually been working on this past month." The blond grinned at Neji's shocked grin. "Oh and I didn't use all of my **Uzumaki Shurikens** on you…I just didn't feel it necessary to hit you with fifty-two of them at the same time." Fifty-two shuriken, plus the one he used at the beginning of the fight meant he came into the battle with fifty-three **Uzumaki Shuriken**. "I also have two hundred and eight exploding kunai."

"Fifty-three and two hundred and eight?"

The blond shrugged, "I hate round numbers." Then Naruto's smile widened, "Oh, and for my next invention, I think I'm going to pack an **Uzumaki Shuriken** with exploding shuriken." Naruto spread his arms out, "Explosions. Everywhere! It's going to be so badass!"

Up in the stands, though no one could actually hear the two boys' conversation, Tenten had another orgasm.

Sadly, even though he could freely clone kunai and shuriken, the **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu** wasn't sophisticated enough to copy any seals that happened to be on those weapons. Yet…

Naruto crouched down next to Neji, "I should probably mention, you know that rule back at the Academy that said we weren't allowed to have explosive tags…that rule was made for people like me."

Neji shivered at the comment.

"You weren't bad by the way. It's a pity we can't be friends, it'd be great having someone like you watching my back when I become Hokage."

"Tch!" 'Idiot, still thinking you got what it takes to become the Hokage!'

"Think about it, you can give me your answer when I change your clan."

'Huh?' Neji glared at the boy. "What?"

Naruto tapped his forehead, "I kinda get the protecting your bloodline thing, all seeing eyes whatever, but I think that being able to kill members of your family with a single hand sign is the most horrible thing ever…and I'm going to outlaw it."

Neji stared at Naruto as if he grew a second head.

The boy shrugged, "Seems like slavery to me… My Konoha, isn't going to be a place where slavery exists. It's as simple as that. All I ask is that you stop doing shit that pisses me off, like hurting your cousin."

Neji scowled at that.

Naruto glared at Neji, "She may be creepy, but she's also super nice too. Believe it or not, she actually still loves you, despite the fact that you put her in the hospital."

"And how would you know that?"

"I'm empathetic, trust me."

Neji scoffed. "So what, I _watch your back_ and you get rid of the Caged Bird seal?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, I get rid of the Caged Bird seal…and that's it." At Neji's look the blond shrugged, "Like I said, my Konoha won't be a place where people can just enslave their family." With that, Naruto got up and turned to leave.

Though Naruto didn't know it at the time, and Neji wasn't prepared to admit it…at that moment, Naruto had just gained his first follower.

**~x later x~**

After several fights, Mito watched uneasily as things slowly went to hell before her eyes. Iruka immediately jumped to his feet and told her to stay where she was, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. As if…

She jumped out of her seat, concealed herself with a genjutsu, and tried to weigh her options. She found herself completely out of the loop. She didn't know any of Konoha's defensive plans or contingencies. In the end, she could either start randomly attacking random enemy shinobi or try to find and stay with people whom she personally knew. Hiruzen and Naruto were the likeliest of choices.

The Sandaime had disappeared with the Kazekage somewhere near the top of the stadium. The blond Uzumaki had apparently spoken with his sensei and left to go on…some assignment, she assumed.

Though she longed to go with Naruto, she knew she had to find Hiruzen. Naruto was an unknown; the aged Hokage's plans had made sure of that, if nothing else. Hiruzen was the Hokage and had been for decades. If anyone were a target, it would be the _Sandaime Hokage_ not an _unknown Jinchuuriki_. It was likely that this invasion had plans to deal with Hiruzen and she swore to make sure they would fail.

**~x~**

Miles away in the forest, Naruto, with Kakashi's dog Pakkun at his side, scanned the battlefield before him.

Sasuke and…the _thing_ that Gaara had turned into were facing off. Sakura was trapped against a tree by, what looked to be, Gaara's sand. Temari was much further away, hiding.

He concentrated on his clairvoyant empathy so he could get a read on the battlefield.

Sasuke had anger and stung pride rolling off of him, with a tinge of fear hidden away. Gaara was pure bloodlust. He was getting nothing form Sakura…which either meant that she was unconscious or dead. 'If he killed her, I'm going to take his fucking head off!' Naruto silently swore. Temari, was fear…just fear. It pissed him off, but he turned away from her to take a look at Sakura.

He reached her with a few jumps and checked her over. 'Good, she's still breathing.' He tried pulling at the girl's bindings, but the sand seemed to circle all the way around the tree. He raised his fist and smashed it against the sand, sending cracks down it. A second strike and Sakura was free. He turned to his teammate, "SASUKE!" Naruto tossed Sakura towards Sasuke and stood between the Uchiha and the other Jinchuuriki.

Gaara growled at Naruto, "GET OUT OF MY WAY. I WILL KILL UCHIHA SASUKE!" Gaara leapt at Naruto, raising his massive hand to bat the boy away.

Naruto rushed the other Jinchuuriki and slammed him with a vertical kick that sent Gaara flying down towards the forest floor. Naruto followed shortly afterwards landing a few feet away from Gaara. He noted the surprise that rolled off of Gaara and the three spectators. Naruto glared at the boy in front of him. "I wouldn't be worried about him…"

**~x~**

Mito arrived at a barrier and knelt next to seven ANBU, all who were in similar positions. Within the barrier, she saw Hiruzen, in his battle armor, standing across from his former student Orochimaru of all people. The captain, an ANBU in a white cloak, recognized her as the new Fuin Master that had been working around Konoha and asked her what she thought of the barrier.

According to the captain, the barrier incinerated anything that touched it. She didn't recognize the technique, though she did note that four different individuals were channeling the barrier. She began thinking of a way to get past it when Hiruzen made eye contact with her. Though no words passed between them, and he was far to far for her to hear anything he said either way, his message was quite clear: _This is my fight, stay out of it_.

Mito didn't know whether it was a sense of duty or his pride that led him to such a decision, but in the end she decided to follow his wishes and leave him to fight his battle…

…until Orochimaru made the biggest mistake of his soon to be short life.

The group of ANBU glanced at the girl who had an aura of ki rolling off of her. They watched her stand, "Captain, I will bring the barrier down so please prepare your unit for battle. I will be back shortly." Not waiting for a response, Mito disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

She figured it would be an easy enough task to dispel the barrier and she'd even take out one of Orochimaru's bodyguards while she was at it. The other three would quickly join Orochimaru. She took a few moments to gaze at the four occupants, trying to determine the most dangerous.

The large boy with the Mohawk was the obvious choice, if only because he elicited a primal fear within her, as the largest of the four. However, if she learned anything over her long life, it was that size wasn't everything.

The next choice was the only female of the group. While she couldn't readily tell if she was anymore dangerous than the other three, Mito was already leaning towards her. Mito, and the ANBU unit, had the unfortunate luck of being closest to her and Mito found the girl's deplorable tongue to be quite offensive to her sense of hearing.

The next one was another boy, this one with six arms. Unknown bloodline perhaps? A possible Taijutsu specialist? He could definitely prove to be problematic.

The last choice was a silvered hair boy with TWO heads. Mito frowned as she gazed at him.

A second later, Mito returned to the ANBU unit. She turned to the captain, "I will assassinate the one with gray hair. When that happens, the barrier should dispel and leave the other three open to attack. You must not allow them to reach their master, understood." Seven heads nodded at her.

Again, she disappeared in a swirl of leaves and reappeared in front of the two headed sound-nin. Nothing but the barrier in between them. Sakon sneered at the girl in front of him, "The fuck are you looking at bitch."

Any other time, Mito might have stepped in to correct such behavior…dead people didn't need such lessons. Instead she placed her hands in the Hare hand seal, and began concentrating on the water molecules around her. She then held out her hand, curling all but her pointer and middle finger. She drew a circle, six inches in diameter, in the air, blue symbols forming after her fingers, "**Fuinjutsu:** **Reigen Tenshi (Sealing Art: Heartless Angel)**". Sakon flinched at the circle of light that appeared between him and Mito. Even with the purple barrier obstructing his sight of everything on the outside, he still found the light to be blinding. It also successfully distracted Sakon from the distortion that appeared behind him. Mito then grabbed an explosive note and tossed it at the circle. The note disappeared the moment it hit the circle and reappeared in the distortion behind Sakon. Ukon's eyes widened at the lit up explosive note. Mito dispelled the circle and distortion concurrently. A moment later, the note exploded.

What remained of Sakon, and Ukon, were forced into the purple wall and incinerated almost instantly. A second later, the barrier dropped. The remainder of the Sound Four were shocked to find their defense gone and even more surprised when a pair of ANBU jumped each of them.

Mito paid them no mind, instead she just walked towards the four figures that had originally been isolated by the barrier: Hiruzen, the idiot that created a disgusting ninjutsu, the soon to be dead Snake Sannin, and…her late husband.

Hiruzen sighed as he glanced at Mito. Not that he could particularly blame her. If the situation were reversed, he sure as hell wouldn't wait around on the sidelines. He just prayed that she wasn't too out of practice. Orochimaru turned to glare at the person that derailed his plans.

She didn't waste any such time. Again she placed her hands in the Hare seal, this time drawing out more chakra. "**Fuinjutsu:** **Reigen Tenshi (Sealing Art: Heartless Angel)**". Again, a blue circle appeared a few feet in front of Mito. A moment later, fifteen similar circles appeared around to the first one.

Orochimaru tensed up as he tried to look through the 'wall' of light. The blinding light effectively cut off the mysterious redhead from his line of sight…

…It also made it next to impossible to notice the sixteen distortions that surrounded Orochimaru and the two undead Hokage.

Behind the wall, Mito pulled out a pouch that contained fifty painted senbon needles. The first one she threw hit the center circle, disappeared, reappeared from one of the distortions and nailed the Nidaime in the back of the head. The other forty-nine needles followed a moment later, each disappearing after hitting a different circle and reappearing from different distortions.

Before the Snake Sannin knew it, he, along with the two undead Hokages, were turned into pincushions. Orochimaru cursed himself for allowing the girl to distract him with a simple light trick. He was about to pull out one of the needles when he felt a strange chakra emerge from them.

Eyes wide, Orochimaru quickly shed his skin, concurrently freeing himself from the senbon, before using a simple **Kawarimi** to escape the area.

For a moment, just one instant, Mito's eyes met with Hashirama's. A pang of guilt erupted in her chest as she placed her hands in the Dragon Seal, "**Raiju!**" **(3)**. Each senbon needle discharged electricity with the force of a lightning bolt, and together, unleashed a 'blue explosion' that engulfed the Shodaime and Nidaime, as well as Orochimaru's discarded skin. When it cleared the smell of ozone filled the air. The floor, which was actually roof tiles, underneath them cracked and turned to dust. All traces of the two Hokages were gone.

Orochimaru was shocked that the girl's attack seemed to have actually destroyed corpses resurrected by the **Edo Tensei**. After a moment, however, he felt the corpses begin to regenerate…slowly.

"**Katon: Karyu Endan (Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!**"

Distracted a second time, Orochimaru leapt to the right to avoid a fire dragon that would have burn him to ash. He turned to see the user, an ANBU, with a white cloak that marked him as a captain. Sadly, for the Snake Sannin, he didn't notice when his former sensei appeared behind him, staff in hand, and took his head clean off.

Orochimaru shed his skin again.

Meanwhile, Mito took the opportunity to seal the remains of the two dead Kage before they could regenerate.

Hiruzen, with Enma in the form of a staff, and Orochimaru, with the Kusanagi, were trading blows. Orochimaru was careful enough to keep the Sandaime between himself and the ANBU captain, but even he knew when things were going south. He could see that Jirobo was already down, pierced through the chest by a spear of dirt of all things, and that Tayuya and Kidomaru were slowly being pushed back by the pair of ANBU they each fought.

"Your guards are falling, Orochimaru!" Hiruzen growled. "Your treachery will NOT overcome the leaf village!"

'Pity, they made such good subjects.' Orochimaru glared at the old man and they crossed weapons. "This isn't the end you old fool, you grow slower and more feeble every single day! I will return to burn this accursed village to the ground and salt the earth!" Orochimaru leapt backwards and spewed out a cloud of black smoke. He turned to escape, but only managed to get five steps away before an unseen forced pulled him to the ground. The ground/roof around Orochimaru began glowing in strange symbols. He tried to get up, but found his body far too heavy to do so.

From the right, he saw the mysterious redhead some distance away. From his hand, the Kusanagi disappeared. He then growled and extended his neck out of the seal's area of effect. Orochimaru's neck continued to stretch to gross proportions. Orochimaru opened his mouth, regurgitating a snake, which regurgitated the Kusanagi. Orochimaru's head continued on its path towards the redhead, prepared to stab her with the legendary blade.

Mito made no move. When Orochimaru's blade was a few feet away from piercing Mito, a purpled eyed black rabbit jumped in it's path. The rabbit parried the Kusanagi with a katana big enough for a grown human to wield. The two blades clashed and the Kusanagi managed to create a centimeter long nick in the rabbit's blade…but otherwise the katana held.

A second later Orochimaru's abnormally long neck was cut in half by Hiruzen's staff and his body, which was still trapped within the weight seal, was engulfed by a second **Katon: Karyu Endan**.

Orochimaru shed his skin _again_.

When he was back on his feet, he found himself surrounded by Hiruzen, Mito, the ANBU captain and the black rabbit. With his peripheral vision he saw that Kidomaru's head was separated from his shoulders and Tayuya was currently surrounded by the other six ANBU.

He realized escape was, indeed, his only viable option. Orochimaru bit his thumb and did a quick chain of hand seals and leapt backwards as far as he could, "**Kuchiyose: Sanju Rashomon**." Three enormous demonic gates suddenly appeared, shooting out of the ground, between Orochimaru and his opponents.

As Orochimaru turned to escape, he used his still bleeding thumb as a catalyst for his next jutsu, "**Kuchiyose no jutsu.**" A large explosion of smoke erupted around Orochimaru and suddenly the Snake Sannin found himself standing on Manda.

However, before the smoke fully cleared, and Manda could adjust to his surroundings, "**Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no jutsu (Summoning: Food Cart Destroy technique).**" The Toad Boss, known as Gamabunta, landed on Manda's head and slamming it against the ground, crushing the Snake Sannin in the process. The giant toad then took his sword and stuck it through the snout of the Snake Boss.

Fearing for his life, Manda swallowed his pride and quickly dispelled itself. Orochimaru shed his skin _again_.

Tired, of fucking dying, and nearly out of chakra, the Snake Sannin looked up to find himself surround. Jiraiya and Gamabunta blocked his back. Hiruzen, Mito, the black rabbit and the ANBU captain, who finally got around the Rashomon gates, blocked his front. Finally, the six ANBU that were dealing with his bodyguards surrounded him from the left and the right. After weighing his options and chances, Orochimaru could only sigh in annoyance.

Hiruzen raised his staff and pointed it at the Snake Sannin, "Stand down Orochimaru!"

From his peripherals, Orochimaru saw something that made him grin. "You fools! While you waste your time with me, the Ichibi will level your precious village to the ground!"

Twelve pairs of eyes turned towards the sight of the Bijuu Shukaku, who towered over even the largest buildings in the village.

Orochimaru grinned, "Weep at your own weakness as you watch your beloved village-"

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"** The sand Bijuu screamed out before it was engulfed two hundred and eight explosions. A large cloud of smoke concealed it from everyone's sight.

Orochimaru paled…which _was_ medically possible for him to do. After the smoke cleared and Shukaku was nowhere to be seen, twelve pairs of eyes turned back towards Orochimaru.

The Snake Sannin slapped his hand on his forehead.

**~End~**

* * *

**Omake: Piquerism (a.k.a. the recruitment that was too ridiculous NOT to be an Omake)**

A mere day after the failed invasion, Mito found herself at the Senju compound, sitting on one of the couches. And she was _not_ alone. Mito sighed as she looked over the piece of paper that had been trust into her hand. "…Tenten-san, forgive my familiarity but I am having difficulty reading your surname."

Tenten smiled up at the _slightly_ older girl, "You can call me Uzumaki if you want!"

"I doubt your parents would approve." Mito looked over the paper and scowled, "Please stop rubbing your cheek against my feet."

Tenten frowned, but didn't let go of Mito's bare feet. "Would you like a foot massage?"

"No I would not." The moment Tenten had the chance, she began hunting down Naruto to _persuade_ him into giving her a free lesson. When she found out that Naruto had a sensei, a sensei who supposedly taught him everything he knew in just under a month, she switched targets. Unfortunately for the girl… "Forgive Tenten-san, but I am not accepting any students at this time."

Tenten's eyes widened, "But you accepted Naruto!"

Mito nodded, "We are kin, Naruto and I. It is a different matter."

Tenten released her feet and grabbed onto Mito's legs. She HAD to learn how to create the **Uzumaki Shuriken**. She just had to get her hands on that type of hardcore weaponry. "Then adopt me!"

Mito flinched at the girl's contact. "I apologize, but I am not adopting any new members into my clan at this time."

"THEN ACCEPT ME AS YOUR SEX SLAVE!"

Mito blushed at the girl's comment. "I apologize, but I am not accepting any sex slaves at this time."

"THEN ACCEPT ME AS YOUR BROODMARE! YOU GUYS NEED TO REVIVE YOUR CLAN RIGHT? I'LL GIVE YOU LOT'S OF BABIES!"

At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke happened to be walking by the doorway to the living area that Mito and Tenten occupied. The two had been training in the grounds just moments ago.

Naruto's eyes were wide. He slowly scooted away. 'What the hell?'

Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at the girl, before shaking his head in disgust. 'Man…some people will do _anything_ for power.' He then followed after Naruto.

Mito paled, "I apologize, but I am not accepting any…broodmares at this time." Mito stood up and began moving, as best as she could with Tenten holding her legs, towards the door. "I am sorry my dear, but you have wasted your time."

"NO, DON'T SAY THAT!" Tenten clutched onto the older girl harder than before. Eventually though, Mito managed to drag herself and Tenten to the door. "PLEASE MISTRESS, TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE SUPER WEAPONS!"

"My dear…" Mito opened the front door. The appearance of Jiraiya stopped her line of thought. "Jiraiya…"

Before she could say anything further, Tenten stood up and got in Jiraiya's face. Tenten seethed with barely controlled rage, "Your presence offends the Mistress!"

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow.

Tenten then kicked the man in the crotch. When Jiraiya bent forward to clutch himself, she punched him in the face. Tenten then slammed the door shut and turned to smile back at Mito.

Mito just stared at the girl for a few moments. "Tenten-san…"

Tenten looked at the older girl with longing eyes.

"Perhaps there IS something I can teach you after all."

Tenten's eyes widened, she fell to her knees and clutched the older girl's legs. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Mito nodded and patted the girl on the back. "Your welcome. Please return here at seven tomorrow morning." They stayed in that position for well over a minute. "Please let go of my legs."

Tenten took a long whiff of the other girl's clothes, "In a minute, I just want to bask in your awesome."

"My dear, I believe you should seek psychiatric help."

"Already did that…took them five sessions to diagnose me with piquerism."

"Hmmm…"

**~End~**

* * *

**(1) **Naruto's outfit is, loosely, based on the outfit worn by Black Star from the anime Soul Eater (which I don't own). Oh, and Mito's friend, Kurohoshi (heh) is an expy of Black Star…who I'm pretty sure is an expy of Naruto…See that? That's a full circle.

**(2) **It really SHOULDN'T be so hard to curse in Japanese.

**(3) Raiju:** A beast that falls to earth in a lightning bolt

**A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter. Had someone ask me, during a review of the last chapter, if I could do an Omake where Naruto spams Neji with Shuriken Kage Bunshins…didn't think it was necessary though. I guess I could for the next chapter if you still really want me to…**

**Anyway, I hope to have the next chapter up next week.**


End file.
